SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-9 MIAC, 2-11 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

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2023-24: 7-0 MIAC, 11-1 Overall

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SMU-GAC * A YEAR AGO:

L, 85-45 * L, 75-51 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 6, 2024 * Winona, MN

Macalester * L, 48-43

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 6, 2024 * St. Peter, MN

Bethel * W, 82-68

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 15, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * 7:30 p.m.

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 13, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup against nationally ranked and league-leading Gustavus sitting at 2-11 overall, including 0-9 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Zoe Fink (Cameron, Wis.) scored 10 points and Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) added 10 rebounds to go along with nine points, but SMU was outscored 14-9 in the final quarter, as Macalester handed the Cardinals a 48-43 MIAC setback last Saturday at the SMU Gym.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against Gustavus is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who have picked up both of their wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary’s is 2-5 at home this season, while still searching for their first win (0-6) away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference contest against Gustavus as the only active Cardinal averaging in double figures in scoring, owning a 10.6 ppg scoring average. … Schaffer has led or shared the team lead in scoring in five of their last eight games.

• GREATER THAN 20: With Schaffer’s 23-point effort against St. Olaf on Dec. 2 and Izzy Goettelman’s (Winona, Minn.) 20-point performance against Martin Luther on Nov. 11, Saint Mary’s has now had a player score 20 or more points in a game 12 times over the past two seasons. … Goettelman has netted 20+ points four times in her collegiate career.

• CAREER SCORING HIGHS: Saint Mary’s has had six players record career scoring highs of 10 or more points in a game this season. Schaffer delivered a career-best 23 points against St. Olaf on Dec. 2, Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) tallied a career-best 14 against Augsburg last Wednesday, Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) poured in a career-best 12 against Bethel on Dec. 9, Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) tallied a career-high with 12 points against Saint Benedict on Nov. 29, and Riley Schiernbeck’s (Ida Grove, Iowa) 11-point effort against Northland on Nov. 14 was also a career high. … The Cardinals had six players record career-highs of 10 or more points last season — including returners Goettelman (23 points), Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill. / 17), Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn. / 14), and Schaffer (11).

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals got scoring from 12 different players in their 78-30 win over Northland on Nov. 14. … SMU finished 2022-23 with two games in which 10 or more players scored. SMU received at least three points from 10 of the 11 players who took the court against Carleton on Dec. 3, and got scoring from 12 different players in their 83-69 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 4.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Schaffer leads the team with 64 rebounds (4.9 rpg) and is one of four players with 50+ boards through 13 games. Olson (63, 4.3 rpg) is second on the team, followed by Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn. / 61, 4.7 rpg) and Riley Schiernbeck (Ada Grove, Iowa / 51, 5.3 rpg). … SMU has had a player reach double figures in rebounds four times this season. Olson, who hauled in 10 boards against Macalester last Saturday, also posted a career-best 13-rebound effort against Elmhurst on Dec. 29, while Goettelman posted 13 boards against Martin Luther on Nov. 11, and Schaffer pulled down 10 boards against Concordia on Dec. 4. … The 13-rebound performances by Olson and Goettelman, and the 10-rebound showing by Schaffer, were all career-highs.

• DOUBLING UP: Schaffer picked up her first collegiate double-double with her 15-point, 10-rebound showing against Concordia on Dec. 4. She is the second SMU player with her first collegiate double-double this season, being joined by Goettelman, who tallied 20 points and 13 boards against Martin Luther on Nov. 11. … Olson missed out on her first collegiate double-double against Macalester last Saturday, 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Saint Mary’s has knocked down 63 3-pointers through 13 games. Fink leads the way with 12 3-pointers, followed by Schaffer with 11 and Wall with 10. … Fink knocked down a single-game season-high four treys against Augsburg last Wednesday, while, as a team, the Cardinals delivered a season-best nine 3s against the Auggies.

• LENDING A HAND: SMU boasts five active players who have reached double figures in assists, led by Fink and Wall with 17. Schaffer and Lettner are tied for third with 16, followed by Cruze with 11. … Fink delivered a single-game, season-high five assists against Northland on Nov. 14. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 113 helpers, with 11 different players recording at least one assist.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALL: The Cardinals’ 48-point, 78-30 win over Northland on Nov. 14 was their most-lopsided victory since a 54-point, 88-34 win over Crown on Nov. 21, 2015. … Northland’s 30 points scored on Nov. 14 were the fewest allowed by the Cardinals since holding Crown to 29 in a 107-29 victory on Nov. 23, 2013, while the LumberJills’ six-point second and third quarters were the fewest points allowed by SMU since the NCAA went back to the quarter system prior to the 2015-16 season.

• PROGRAM FIRST: SMU’s Nov. 14 game against Northland was the first between the two teams in program history. It’s the third time in the last two seasons Saint Mary’s has faced an opponent for the first time. The Cardinals’ games against Penn State Behrend and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at last season’s Music City Classic marked the first time in program history that the teams had met on the basketball court. SMU fell to Penn State Behrend 71-65, while knocking off MIT 60-53.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Cardinals are shooting 32.8 percent from the field (250-for-762), with 63 3-pointers, and have drained 131 of 208 free throws (63.0 %). … SMU is averaging 53.3 ppg, while its 13 opponents are scoring at a 65.4 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s 78 points against Northland on Nov. 14 were a season-high. … The Cardinals eclipsed the 80-point twice last season — netting 81 in an 81-67 win over Carleton on Dec. 3, 2022, while tallying a season-best 83 points in beating St. Scholastica 83-69 on Feb. 4, 2023.

GUSTAVUS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The high-powered and league-leading Gusties head into their mid-week matchup against Saint Mary’s boasting a near-perfect 11-1 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Gustavus scored 20 or more points in each of the game’s first three quarters and coasted to its seventh straight conference win, rolling to an 82-68 win over Bethel last Saturday at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

• IN THE POLLS: The Gusties are sitting in the top 10 in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA polls, owning a No. 6 spot in the WBCA poll, while sitting at No. 7 in the D3hoops.com poll.

• COMING IN HOT: Gustavus heads into its conference matchup against Saint Mary’s riding a four-game winning streak. Gustavus opened the season by rattling off seven straight wins, before suffering its lone loss of the season — a 71-61 decision to No. 4 Rhode Island College on Dec. 20. Since that loss, GAC has recorded wins over Simpson (64-62), Bethel (61-45 & 82-68), and Concordia (64-60).

• HOME SWEET HOME: After three straight home games, Wednesday’s contest against Saint Mary’s is the first of two straight road contests for the Gusties. GAC sports an unblemished 6-0 record on its home floor, while going 5-1 away from Gus Young Court.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALLS: Nine of Gustavus’ 11 wins have been by 12 points or more, the only exceptions — a two-point, 64-62 win over Simpson on Dec. 21 and a four-point, 64-60 victory over Bethel in the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 30. … GAC has posted two wins 40+ points, beating St. Olaf 87-47 on Nov. 21 and routing St. Catherine 89-39 on Dec. 9.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: The Gusties enter Wednesday’s matchup at Saint Mary’s boasting five players who are averaging nine or more points-per-game. Rachel Kawiecki leads the way for GAC, averaging 11.2 ppg, while Syd Hauger (10.9 ppg) and Emma Kniefel (10.8 ppg) are also averaging in double figures, while Kylie Baranick (9.1 ppg) and Morgan Kelly (9.1 ppg) are percentage points away from joining the double-digit club. … Kawiecki has scored 10+ points in 10 of the team’s 12 games, including a season-high 16 points against St. Catherine on Dec. 9. … GAC has had five different players lead in the team in scoring through 12 games. … Kelly netted a single-game season-high 19 points against Concordia on Jan. 3.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: The Gusties have six players who have pulled down 40 or more rebounds through 12 games. Izzy Quick leads the rebounding corps with 57 boards (4.8 rpg), one more than Kawiecki (56, 4.7 rpg). Kniefel and Kelly share the No. 3 spot with 49 boards each (4.1 rpg), followed by Baranick (47, 3.8 rpg) and Hauger (46, 3.8 rpg). … Quick posted a single-game season-high 11 rebounds against Simpson on Dec. 21, while Kawiecki added a 10-rebound effort against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Gustavus has rained in 66 3-pointers on 203 attempts (32.5 %) and have gotten at least one trey from 12 different players. Kniefel and Baranick lead the way for the Gusties’ long-range bombers, knocking down 12 3s each, one more than Hauger, with Kelly sitting fourth on the team with nine. … Kniefel drained a season-high four 3-pointers against Rhode Island on Dec. 20.

• LENDING A HAND: Gustavus boasts six players who have amassed 10+ assists, led by Baranick with 51 and Kniefel with 30. Quick has delivered 27 helpers, followed by Kawiecki with 25, Hauger with 24, and Kelly with 20. … The Gusties dished out season-best 25 assists against UW-Stout on Nov. 15.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, Gustavus is shooting 45.6 percent from the field (312-for-684), with 66 3-pointers, and are 161-for-240 (67.1 %) from the free throw line. … GAC is averaging 70.9 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 52.0 ppg clip. … Gustavus has scored 80 or more points three times this season, including a season-high 89 points in routing St. Catherine 89-39 on Dec. 9. On the flip side, GAC has allowed more than 70 points in a game just once — a 71-XX loss to Rhode Island on Dec. 20.