SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-7 MIAC, 2-9 Overall

AUGSBURG AUGGIES

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2023-24: 1-4 MIAC, 2-6 Overall

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SMU-AUG * A YEAR AGO:

L, 64-56 * W, 71-63 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 29, 2023 * Elmhurst, IL

Elmhurst * L, 81-49

AUGSBURG * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 30, 2023 * Menomonie, WI

UW-Stout * L, 78-54

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 6, 2024 * Winona, MN

Macalester * 1 p.m.

AUGSBURG * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 6, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup at Augsburg sitting at 2-9 overall, including 0-7 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) had 12 points and Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, but Saint Mary’s had no answer for Elmhurst's 3-point arsenal, as the Bluejays knocked down 14 3-pointers in dealing the Cardinals an 81-49 setback last Friday in Elmhurst, Ill.

• HOME SWEET HOME: After three home contests in a four-game stretch prior to the holiday break, Wednesday’s game at Augsburg is the second of back-to-back road contests for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary’s is 2-4 on its home court this season, while still searching for their first win (0-5) away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) and Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) head into the Cardinals’ conference contest against Augsburg both averaging in double figures in scoring. Goettelman is sitting at 11.4 ppg, while Schaffer sports a 10.6 ppg scoring average. … Schaffer has led the team in scoring in four of their last six games.

• GREATER THAN 20: With Schaffer’s 23-point effort against St. Olaf on Dec. 2 and Goettelman’s 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 five 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, 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 56 rebounds (5.1 rpg) and is one of five players with 40+ boards through 11 games. Cruze (41, 4.6 rpg) is second on the team, followed by Goettelman (47, 5.9 rpg), Olson (47, 4.7 rpg) and Schiernbeck (45, 4.5 rpg). … Cruze delivered a career-best 13 rebounds against Elmhurst last Friday, marking the second time this season SMU has had a player pull down 13 boards, and the third time the Cardinals had a player reach double figures in rebounds. Goettelman recorded a career-high 13 rebounds against Martin Luther on Nov. 11, while Schaffer recorded a career-best 10 boards against Concordia on Dec. 4. … SMU had a player record 10 or more rebounds in a game 10 times a year ago — including five times by Cruze.

• 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. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Saint Mary’s has knocked down 51 3-pointers through 11 games. Schaffer eight 3-pointers, followed by Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) and Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) with seven each. Goettelman, Wall and Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.) have accounted for the other 18 treys, with all three owning six. … SMU poured in a single-game season-high eight 3-pointers against Saint Benedict on Nov. 29. … The Cardinals drained 172 3-pointers a year ago, and netted a season-high 13 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Feb. 1, 2023, shooting 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from behind the arc. … SMU’s 13 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game program record of 15, set against Concordia on Feb. 12, 2022.

• LENDING A HAND: SMU boasts four active players who have reached double figures in assists, led by Fink with 16. Schaffer and Wall are second with 14, followed by Lettner with 13 and Wall with 11. … Fink delivered a single-game, season-high five assists against Northland on Nov. Nov. 14. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 96 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 33.0 percent from the field (216-for-654), with 51 3-pointers, and have drained 116 of 180 free throws (64.4 %). … SMU is averaging 54.5 ppg, while its first 11 opponents are scoring at 67.3 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.

AUGSBURG SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Auggies head into 2024’s opener against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-6 overall, including 1-4 through the first five games of the conference slate.

• LAST TIME OUT: UW-Stout outscored Augsburg 18-8 in the first quarter and never let off the gas, as the Blue Devils dealt the Auggies a 78-54 nonconference setback last Saturday in Menomonie, Wis.

• ONE + ONE: The Auggies have the same record whether at home or on the road. Augsburg is 1-3 on its home court, while also sporting a 1-3 record away from Si Melby Hall. 

• STREAK-SNAPPER: Augsburg’s 77-69 win over St. Olaf on Dec. 9 snapped the Auggies’ season-high five-game losing streak. Augsburg opened the season with a 76-69 win over Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 8, prior to dropping five straight.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALLS: All six of Augsburg’s losses this season have been by eight or more points — including five losses of 20 or more points. On the flip side, the Auggies’ two wins have both been by eight points or less.

• CARRYING THE LOAD: The Auggies head into Wednesday’s road game against Saint Mary’s boasting just one player who is averaging 10 or more points in scoring. Anja Smith leads the offensive charge with an 11.2 ppg scoring average, while Wakinyela ear and Kalena Myers are percentage points away from the 10-point average, sitting at 9.6 ppg and 9.5 ppg, respectively. … Smith owns both of Augsburg’s 20+ point performances this season, scoring 21 against St. Olaf on Dec. 9 and a season-high 23 vs. Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 8.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Samaiya Buchanan owns a team-leading 38 rebounds (5.4 rpg), and is one of three Auggies with 30 or ore rebounds, being joined by Smith (35, 5.8 rpg) and Meyers 33, 4.1 rpg). Bear is one rebound shy of joining the 30-rebound club, sitting at 29 (3.6 rpg). … Smith and Buchanan have each hauled down a season-high 10 rebounds — Smith’s coming as part of a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 8, while Buchanan reached 10 boards against both Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 8 and UW-River Falls eight days later. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Bear has accounted for nearly half of the Auggies’ 31 3-pointers through eight games, having knocked down 15 on 37 attempts (40.5 %). Myers is second on the team with six 3s, followed by Maecee Alexander with three, Katie Manecke and Lily Kirshner with two, and Smith, Amira LaDuke, and Moriah McLendon with one each.

• LENDING A HAND: Augsburg owns 77 assists through eight games, and boast three players — Manecke (22), Myers (20), and Bear (10) with 10+ helpers this season.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:Augsburg is shooting 34.5 percent from the field (150-for-434), while hitting on 31 of 120 3-pointers (25.8 %) and going 110-for-168 (65.5 %) from the free throw line. … As a team, the Auggies are averaging 55.1 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 68.9 ppg clip. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 130-122, but have been outscored in each of the game’s first three quarters — 140-104 in the first, 139-91 in the second, and 150-116 in the third. … The Auggies have scored more than 70 points in both of their wins this season — netting 76 in beating Bethany Lutheran 76-69 on Nov. 8 and a season-high 77 in a 77-69 win over St. Olaf on Dec. 9. Augsburg has not scored more than 58 points in its other six games.