SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-8 MIAC, 2-10 Overall

MACALESTER SCOTS

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2023-24: 2-5 MIAC, 5-6 Overall

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SMU-MAC * A YEAR AGO:

L, 72-56 * W, 73-65 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 3, 2024 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * L, 63-52

MACALESTER * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 3 2024 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * L, 58-38

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 10, 2024 * Winona, MN

Gustavus * 7 p.m.

MACALESTER * UP NEXT:

Jan. 13, 2024 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matchup against Macalester sitting at 2-10 overall, including 0-8 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) and Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) each scored 14 points, but the Cardinals could not overcome a four-point third quarter, as Augsburg dealt Saint Mary’s a 63-52 conference setback Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: After back-to-back road games, Saturday’s contest against Macalester is the first of two straight home contests for the Cardinals, who have picked up both of their wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary’s is 2-4 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 Macalester as the only active Cardinal averaging in double figures in scoring, owning a 10.9 ppg scoring average. … Schaffer has led or shared the team lead in scoring in five of their last seven 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 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 63 rebounds (5.3 rpg) and is one of five players with 40+ boards through 12 games. Cruze (57, 4.8 rpg) is second on the team, followed by Olson (53, 4.8 rpg), Schiernbeck (47, 4.3 rpg), and Goettelman (47, 5.9 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 60 3-pointers through 12 games. Schaffer and Fink lead the way with 11 3-pointers each, followed by Wall with eight and Lettner with seven. … Fink knocked down a single-game season-high four treys against Augsburg on Wednesday, while, as a team, the Cardinals delivered a season-best nine 3s against the Auggies.

• LENDING A HAND: SMU boasts four active players who have reached double figures in assists, led by Fink with 17. Schaffer and Wall are second with 15, followed by Lettner with 14. … Fink delivered a single-game, season-high five assists against Northland on Nov. Nov. 14. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 103 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 33.1 percent from the field (234-for-708), with 60 3-pointers, and have drained 123 of 196 free throws (62.8 %). … SMU is averaging 54.2 ppg, while its 12 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.

MACALESTER SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Macalester heads to Saint Mary’s sitting at 5-6 overall, while sporting a 2-5 mark in seven conference contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Scots were held to just 12 points in the second and third quarters combined, as St. Catherine pulled away in dealing Macalester a 58-38 MIAC setback Wednesday at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: After playing a pair of home contests in their last two games, Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of two straight road games for the Scots. Macalester has played just four of its first 11 games on its home court, going 1-3, while owning a 4-3 mark away from Leonard Center.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Scots’ 71-63 win over St. Olaf on Dec. 12 snapped their season-high three-game losing streak. The three-game slide marks the only time this season Macalester has dropped back-to-back games. 

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Peyton Starks enters Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s as the only Scot averaging in double figures in scoring, sporting a 16.9 ppg average. Katherine Norquist is second on the team at 8.4 ppg, followed by Acacia Edmond at 6.3 ppg and Andrea Palmen at 5.2 ppg. … Starks has scored at least 10 points in all 11 games this season, and owns three games of 20+ points. … Starks — who has led or shared the team lead in scoring in nine of the Scots’ 11 games — netted a season-high 24 points against Calvin on Nov. 11, going 7-for-14 from the field, with two 3-pointers, and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: The Scots boast four players with 40 or more rebounds, led by Norquist with 63 (5.7 rpg). Starks and Sydnee Smith are tied for second with 60 rebounds (5.5 rpg), with Mary Daley chipping in 44 (4.0 rpg). … Smith owns two of Macalester’s three double-digit rebound performances — hauling in 10 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Dec. 2 and 10 vs. Martin Luther on Nov. 18, while Starks pulled down a season-high 14 boards as part of a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double against St. Scholastica on Dec. 2.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Macalester has knocked down 37 3-pointers through 11 games, with Starks and Andrea Palmen leading the charge with 7 treys each. Edmond owns six 3s, one more than Caitlin Panos, with Smith, Daley and Elle Corbett each chipping in three.

• LENDING A HAND: Norquist has dished out a team-best 23 assists this season. She is one of five Scots who have delivered 10 or more helpers, being joined by Daley (17), Palmen (13), Starks (10), and Edmond (10).

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:Macalester is shooting 34.7 percent from the field (218-for-628), but are just 37 of 155 (23.9 %) from behind the 3-point line. The Scots are 147-for-217 from the free throw line (67.7 %). … As a team, the Scots are averaging 56.3 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 64.1 ppg clip. … Macalester has scored 70 or more points three times this season, netting 71 in both games against St. Olaf — a 71-57 win on Nov. 29 and a 71-63 victory on Dec. 12 — while tallying a season-high 78 in beating Lake Forest 78-49 on Nov. 10. On the flip side, the Scots have only allowed 70+ points twice, falling to nationally ranked Gustavus 70-39 on Dec. 6 and dropping an 80-48 decision to Calvin on Nov. 11. … Macalester has played one overtime game this season, beating St. Scholastica 60-57 on Dec. 2.