SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule
2023-24: 0-10 MIAC, 2-13 Overall
SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES
Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule
2023-24: 6-4 MIAC, 8-6 Overall
LIVE ON THE WEB:
Follow Along: Live Stats * Streaming Video
MIAC: WBB Home * Standings * Schedule
Social: Facebook * X * Threads * Instagram * YouTube
SMU-CSB * LAST MEETING:
Nov. 29, 2023 * Winona, MN
L, 74-55 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
Jan. 15, 2024 * St. Paul, MN
St. Catherine * L, 64-59
SAINT BENEDICT * LAST ACTION:
Jan. 15, 2024 * St. Joseph, MN
#6/7 Gustavus * L, 77-62
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
Jan. 20, 2024 * Winona, MN
St. Olaf * 1 p.m.
SAINT BENEDICT * UP NEXT:
Jan. 20, 2024 * St. Paul, MN
Hamline * 1 p.m.
SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup against Saint Benedict sitting at 2-13 overall, including 0-10 in conference play.
• LAST TIME OUT: Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) scored 14 points and Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) chipped in 12, but it was not enough, as St. Catherine outscored SMU 16-8 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 64-59 win at Butler Center Gym in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday.
• ROAD TRIP: Wednesday’s game against Saint Benedict is the second of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who will play their next three games — vs. St. Olaf (Saturday), Hamline (Jan. 24), and Bethel (Jan. 27) — on their home court. … The Cardinals have picked up both of their wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary’s is 2-6 at home this season, while still searching for their first win (0-7) away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.
• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Schaffer heads into the Cardinals’ conference contest against Saint Benedict leading the team in scoring, owning a 10.0 ppg scoring average. … Schaffer has led or shared the team lead in scoring in five of their last 10 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 on Jan. 3; Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) poured in a career-best 12 against Bethel on Dec. 9; Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) notched 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. … Cruze, meanwhile, equaled her career high with her 14-point effort against St. Catherine on Monday.
• 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: Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) has pulled down a team-leading 75 rebounds (5.4 rpg), with Schaffer and Cruze close behind with 73 (4.9 rpg) and 72 (4.8 rpg) boards, respectively. The trio are three of four players with 50 or more rebounds, being joined by Schiernbeck (56, 4.0 rpg). … SMU has had a player reach double figures in rebounds four times this season. Olson grabbed 10 rebounds against Macalester on Jan. 6 and added a 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 72 3-pointers through 15 games. Wall, Schaffer, and Fink all share the team lead with 13 3-poniters. … Fink knocked down a single-game season-high four treys against Augsburg on Jan. 3, while, as a team, the Cardinals also 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 Wall, Fink, and Lettner with 20, followed by Lettner (18), Olson (13), and Cruze (11). … Fink dished out 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 33.3 percent from the field (284-for-853), with 72 3-pointers, and have drained 145 of 232 free throws (63.5 %). … SMU is averaging 52.3 ppg, while its 15 opponents are scoring at a 66.0 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.
SAINT BENEDICT SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Bennies head into their home matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 8-6 overall, including 6-4 in conference play.
• LAST TIME OUT: Not even boasting four double-figure scorers would be enough for CSB in its conference showdown against league-leading Gustavus, as the nationally-ranked Gusties outscored the Bennies 24-12 in the first quarter and 21-15 in the fourth in dealing Saint Benedict a 77-64 MIAC setback at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s showdown with the Cardinals is the second of back-to-back home games for the Bennies, who will play their next two games — Hamline (Jan. 20) and Macalester (Jan. 27) on the road. … Saint Benedict is sitting at 5-2 on its home floor, while sporting a 3-4 record away from Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn.
• JANUARY SWOON: With their loss to Gustavus on Monday, Saint Benedict saw its losing streak climb to a season-high three straight. CSB has now won since kicking off January with back-to-back wins over St. Olaf (87-63) and St. Scholastica (66-61), and are just 3-5 in its last eight contests. … CSB’s current three-game losing streak marks the first time all season the Bennies have lost back-to-back games.
• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: The Bennies enter their mid-week matchup against Saint Mary’s sporting four of their five starters who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Sophia Jonas leads the way with a 13.8 ppg scoring average, followed closely by Carla Meyer (13.4 ppg), Kira Young (10.9 ppg), and Lydia Hay (10.0 ppg). CSB’s fifth starter, Megan Morgan, owns an 8.6 ppg scoring average. … Jonas and Meyer have accounted for CSB’s top five single-game offensive performances. Meyer owns games of 22 and 23 points, with Jonas delivering games of 22, 25, and a single-game season-high 26 against UW-River Falls on Nov. 16.
• CLEANING THE GLASS: Young and Meyer have dominated the boards for the Bennies, posting 79 (5.6 rpg) and 70 (5.0 rpg) rebounds, respectively. Hay (57, 4.1 rpg), Morgan (53, 3.8 rpg), and Morgan Chmielewski (51, 3.6 rpg) have also hauled in more than 50 rebounds this season. … Meyer pulled down a single-game, season-high 11 rebounds as part of an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double against Hamline on Dec. 2.
• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: CSB is shooting 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point line, going 116-for-348). … Jonas leads the Bennies’ long-range bombers, draining 38 3s and shooting 38.2 % (38-for-97) from behind the arc – including a single-game, season-high six triples against both UMN Morris on Nov. 10 and vs. UW-River Falls six days later. … Meyer (21), Morgan (14), Hay (13), and Megan Driste (13) have also poured in more than 10 treys this season. …. The Bennies have made a single-game, season-high 12 3-pointers twice this season — vs. Grinnell on Dec. 10 and against St. Olaf on Jan. 3.
• LENDING A HAND: Meyer enters Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s boasting a team-best 48 assists. She is one of five Bennies with 20+ helpers, being joined by Young (34), Morgan (27), Jonas (23), and Chmielewski (21). … As a team, Saint Benedict has dished out 198 assists in 14 games.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, Saint Benedict is shooting 43.1 percent from the field (359-for-832), with 116 3-pointers, and has gone 144 of 192 (75.0 %) from the free throw line. … CSB is averaging 69.8 ppg, while limiting its opponents to 66.2 ppg. … Saint Benedict has scored 75 of more points five times this season, including a season-high 87-point effort in drubbing St. Olaf 87-63 on Dec. 3. On the flip side, CSB has surrendered 80+ points twice, including 86 in falling to St. Catherine 86-75 last Saturday. … Last Saturday’s double-OT loss to St. Catherine marked the only time this season the Bennies have gone into overtime.
