SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-15 MIAC, 2-18 Overall

MACALESTER SCOTS

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2023-24: 5-10 MIAC, 8-12 Overall

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SMU-MAC * LAST MEETING:

Jan. 6, 2024 * Winona, MN

L, 48-43 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 31, 2024 * Moorhead, MN

Concordia * L, 83-38

MACALESTER * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 31, 2024 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethel * L, 79-50

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Feb. 5, 2024 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * 7 p.m.

MACALESTER * UP NEXT:

Feb. 5, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

#5 Gustavus * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference road matchup at Macalester sitting at 2-18 overall, including 0-15 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Concordia scored the final 16 points of the first quarter, and the Cardinals never recovered, as the Cobbers dealt SMU an 83-38 conference setback Wednesday at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn.

• HITTING THE ROAD: Saturday’s game at Macalester is the second of three straight road contest for the Cardinals, who will head to Duluth, Minn., for a Monday showdown against St. Scholastica, before returning to the Saint Mary’s Gym for their final two home contests against Augsburg (Wednesday) and St. Catherine (Saturday). … The Cardinals have picked up both of their wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary’s is 2-9 at home this season, while still searching for their first win (0-9) away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference contest against Macalester leading the team in scoring, owning a 10.0 ppg scoring average. … Saint Mary’s has had six different players lead or share the team lead in scoring this season — including five different players in the last six contests. … Schaffer has led the way seven times, while Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) has been the team’s scoring leader four times. …

• GREATER THAN 20: With her career-high 20-point showing against Saint Benedict on Jan. 17, 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 on Jan. 20; Wall poured in a career-best 13 against Hamline on Wednesday; 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: Cruze has pulled down a team-leading 102 rebounds (5.1 rpg), marking the second straight season in which the season has reached the 100-rebound plateau. She collected a career-high 153 boards a year ago. … Schaffer (93, 4.9 rpg) and Olson (92, 4.6 rpg) have each exceeded 90 rebounds, with Schiernbeck chipping in 72 (3.8 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 99 3-pointers through 20 games. Fink leads the charge with 24 3-pointers, followed by Wall with 19 and Schaffer with 16, while Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.) owns 10 treys and Lettner has eight. … Fink poured in a single-game season-and career-high five 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Jan. 20, 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 on Jan. 20.

• LENDING A HAND: SMU boasts six active players who have reached double figures in assists, led by Wall with 34, Lettner with 29, Fink with 25, Olson with 24, and Schaffer with 22. … Fink dished out a single-game, season-high five assists against Northland on Nov. 14. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has collected 197 helpers, and posted a single-game season-high 20 assists against St. Olaf on Jan. 20.

• 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 34.2 percent from the field (382-for-1118), with 99 3-pointers, and have drained 182 of 294 free throws (61.9 %). … SMU is averaging 52.2 ppg, while its opponents are scoring at a 68.0 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: The Scots head into their second meeting with Saint Mary’s sitting at 8-12 overall, which includes a 5-10 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Bethel outscored Macalester 20-10 in the first quarter, and the Royals continued to slowly pull away in dealing the Scots a 79-50 MIAC setback Wednesday in Arden Hills, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back home games for the Scots, who play four of their final six contests on their home floor. … Macalester owns a 3-6 record on its home court, while going 5-6 away from Leonard Center Gym.

• LIMPING IN: With their 79-50 loss to Bethel on Wednesday, the Scots saw their season-high losing streak climb to five in a row. Macalester has not won since beating St. Olaf 58-47 on Jan. 17. … After opening the season 4-2, the Scots have gone 4-10 in its last 14 games.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Peyton Starks heads into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s as the Scots’ offensive leader, averaging 17.8 ppg. Starks is the only Macalester player averaging more than 10 ppg. Katherine Norquist is second on the team with a 9.1 ppg scoring average. … Starks has scored 10 or more points in all 20 games this season, including seven games of at least 20 points. Starks scored a single-game, season-high 25 points against Hamline on Jan. 15. … Starks has led the team in scoring in 18 of its 20 games — including each of the last 10.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Along with her team-leading scoring average, Starks also leads the Scots in rebounds with 121 (6.1 rpg). She is one of two Macalester players to have broken the 100-rebound mark this season, being joined by Norquist, who owns 114 boards (5.7 rpg). … Starks has reached 10 or more rebounds three times this season — all three resulting in a double-double — including a season-high 14 boards against St. Scholastica on Dec. 2. … Norquist recorded her only double-digit rebound performance in Macalester’s first meeting with Saint Mary’s, posting a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Macalester has made just 58 3-pointers through 20 games, with Andrea Palmer leading the way with 12 treys. Starks (10) and Acacia Edmond (10) are the only other Macalester players with 10 or more 3-pointers. … As a team, Macalester drained a season-high nine 3-pointers against St. Catherine on Jan. 22, while, individually, Starks knocked down a season-high three treys against the Wildcats that day.

• LENDING A HAND:  Norquist has delivered a team-best 43 assists, followed by Mary Daley with 38, Starks with 20, and Andrea Palmen with 19. … Norquist has dished out a single-game season-high five assists twice — against both Saint Benedict on Dec. 9 and vs. St. Catherine on Jan. 22.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, Macalester is shooting 36.6 percent from the field (403-for-1102), with 58 3-pointers, while going 221-for-327 (67.6 %) from the free throw line. … The Scots are scoring at a 52.2 ppg clip, with their opponents coming in averaging 61.7 ppg. … Macalester has scored more than 70 points just three times this season, scoring 71 in both games against St. Olaf, and netting a season-best 78 in a 78-49 against Lake Forest on Nov. 10. On the flip side, the Scots’ opponents have eclipsed the 70 point mark five times. Macalester surrendered 80 points to Calvin in an 80-48 loss on Nov. 11, and allowed a season-high 81 points to Sc. Catherine in falling to the Wildcats 81-57 on Jan. 22.