SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-12 MIAC, 2-15 Overall

HAMLINE PIPERS

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2023-24: 5-7 MIAC, 7-9 Overall

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SMU-HAM * LAST MEETING:

Nov. 21, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

L, 71-47 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 20, 2024 * Winona, MN

St. Olaf * L, 65-63

HAMLINE * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 20, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

Saint Benedict * W, 55-51

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 27, 2024 * Winona, MN

Bethel * 1 p.m.

HAMLINE * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 27, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

Concordia * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference home matchup against Hamline sitting at 2-15 overall, including 0-12 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s came out on the short end of an MIAC heartbreaker, as St. Olaf scored with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation, lifting the Oles to a 65-63 win over the Cardinals last Saturday at the SMU Gym.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s showdown against Hamline is the second of three straight home contests for the Cardinals, who will entertain Bethel on Saturday. … The Cardinals have picked up both of their wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary’s is 2-7 at home this season, while still searching for their first win (0-8) away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference contest against Hamline leading the team in scoring, owning a 10.1 ppg scoring average. … Saint Mary’s has had six different players lead or share the team lead in scoring this season — including a different scoring leader in each of their last four games. Schaffer has led the way six times, while Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) has been the team’s scoring leader three times. 

• GREATER THAN 20: With her career-high 20-point showing against Saint Benedict on Wednesday, Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) came the third Cardinal this season to reach the 20-point plateau. Schaffer posted a 23-point effort against St. Olaf in the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 2 and Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) netted 20 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 11. … Saint Mary’s has now had a player score 20 or more points in a game 13 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; Olson tallied 20 points against Saint Benedict on Jan. 27; Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) tallied a career-best 17 against St. Olaf last Saturday; Wall 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 last 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: Schaffer has pulled down a team-leading 85 rebounds (5.0 rpg), with Olson and Cruze close behind with 84 (5.3 rpg) and 82 (4.8 rpg) boards, respectively. The trio are three of four players with 60 or more rebounds, being joined by Schiernbeck (64, 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 by one point against Macalester on Jan. 6, and Schaffer came within one rebound of double-double No. 2 against Saint Benedict on Jan. 17. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Saint Mary’s has knocked down 83 3-pointers through 17 games. Fink leads the charge with 18 3-pointers, followed by Schaffer and Wall with 14 each, while Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.) owns 10 treys. … Fink poured in a single-game season-and career-high five 3-pointers against St. Olaf last Saturday, going 5-for-7 from behind the arc. … As a team, the Cardinals have drained a season-best nine 3s in a game twice — against Augsburg on Jan. 3 and vs. St. Olaf last Saturday.

• LENDING A HAND: SMU boasts six active players who have reached double figures in assists, led by Wall with 29, Fink and Lettner with 22. Schaffer (20), Olson (20), Cruze (13), and Schiernbeck (10) have also reached double-digits in assists. … Fink dished out a single-game, season-high five assists against Northland on Nov. 14. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has collected 164 helpers, with 12 different players recording at least one assist, and posted a single-game season-high 20 assists against St. Olaf last Saturday.

• 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 34.3 percent from the field (331-for-966), with 83 3-pointers, and have drained 162 of 262 free throws (61.8 %). … SMU is averaging 53.3 ppg, while its 17 opponents are scoring at a 67.0 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.

HAMLINE SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Pipers head into their mid-week conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 7-9 overall, including owning a 5-7 record through the first 12 games of their conference slate

• LAST TIME OUT: Hamline erased a four-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter, outscoring Saint Benedict 19-12 over the game’s final 10 minutes in beating the Bennies 54-51 last Saturday at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Hamline is in the midst of playing three of four games on their home floor — the lone exception, Wednesday’s road game at Saint Mary’s. … HU is currently 4-3 at home, while sitting at 3-6 away from Hutton Arena. 

• LIMPING IN: With their four-point win over Saint Benedict last Saturday, Hamline put an end to its season-high five-game losing streak. Prior to Saturday’s victory over CSB, the Pipers had not won in 2024, with their last win an 82-43 victory over Salve Regina on Dec. 30. … After opening the season with five wins in their first six games, the Pipers have gone 2-8 in their last 10.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Hamline heads to Saint Mary’s boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Lydia Lecher leads the Piper offense with a 12.9 ppg scoring average, just percentage points in front of Michaela Stamer, who is sitting at 12.7 ppg. Camile Cummings in the third Piper with a double-figure scoring average, coming in at 10.1 ppg. … HU has had a player score 20 or more points six times — three by Lecher (20, 20 & 22), two by Stamer (20 & 24), and one by Stork (20).

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Lecher has hauled in a team-high 97 rebounds (6.5 rpg), and is one of three Piper players who have pulled down at least 70 boards — being joined by Sophie Stork (76, 5.4 rpg) and Faith Johnson (72, 4.5 rpg). … Lecher has pulled down 10 or more rebounds three times — with all three resulting in double-doubles, including 22 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in HU’s first meeting with Saint Mary’s on Nov. 21. … Stock collected 13 rebounds against Saint Benedict last Saturday, while Johnson hauled in a season-high 14 boards against DeSales on Dec. 29.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Hamline has poured in 125 3-pointers in 16 games and has five players who have drilled at least 10 triples. … Stamer leads the Pipers’ long-range bombers with 36 3-pointers, followed by Lecher with 28 and Cummings with 25. Stork and Kate Trachsel have also reached double-digits in 3s with 12 each. … HU knocked down a season-high 15 3-pointers against Salve Regina on Dec. 30, while Cummings poured in a single-game season-high six 3-pointers against Saint Mary’s in the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 21.

• LENDING A HAND: Trachsel and Stamer lead the Pipers in assists, sporting 41 and 40 helpers, respectively. Lecher is third with 20 assists, followed by Stork with 19 and Josie Webusch with 11. … Stamer dished out a game-high five assists against St. Catherine on Dec. 4.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Pipers are shooting 36.2 percent from the field (349-for-965), with 125 3-pointers, and have knocked down 189 of 273 free throws (69.2 %). … Hamline is scoring at a 63.2 ppg clip, with its opponents averaging 61.4 ppg. … Hamline has scored 70 or more points in a game five times, including a season-high 82 points in an 82-43 win over Salve Regina on Dec. 30. On the flip side, the Pipers have allowed 80 or more points five times, including 82 against Concordia (L, 82-59) and a season-high 84 against Loras (L, 84-54) on Dec. 15. … Hamline has played one overtime game this season, losing to Macalester 62-57 on Jan. 15.