SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2023-24: 0-18 MIAC, 2-21 Overall
ST. CATHERINE WILDCATS
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2023-24: 12-5 MIAC, 16-6 Overall
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SMU-SCU * EARLIER THIS YEAR:
Nov. 17, 2023 * Jan. 19, 2024
L, 83-45 * L, 64-59 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
Feb. 7, 2024 * Winona, MN
Augsburg * L, 70-50
ST. CATHERINE * LAST ACTION:
Feb. 7, 2024 * St. Paul, MN
at Macalester * W, 74-63
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
Feb. 14, 2024 * St. Peter, MN
#5 Gustavus * 7 p.m.
ST. CATHERINE * UP NEXT:
Feb. 14, 2024 * St. Paul, MN
Augsburg * 7 p.m.
SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their final home conference matchup against St. Catherine sitting at 2-21 overall, including 0-18 in conference play.
• LAST TIME OUT: Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) posted her third collegiate double-double — scoring a career-best 16 points and adding 12 rebounds — but it was not enough to carry the Cardinals past Augsburg, as the Auggies pulled away late in dealing SMU a 70-50 MIAC setback at the SMU Gym Wednesday.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against St. Catherine is the final home game of the season for the Cardinals, who close out their 2023-24 schedule on the road on Wednesday, squaring off against fifth-ranked Gustavus in St. Peter, Minn. … The Cardinals have picked up both of their wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary’s is 2-10 at home this season, while still searching for their first win (0-11) away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.
• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference contest against St. Catherine leading the team in scoring, owning a 10.1 ppg scoring average. … Schaffer has netted 10 or more points a team-leading nine times. … 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 eight contests. … Schaffer has led the way eight times, while Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) — who netted a team-best 11 points against St. Scholastica last Monday — has been the team’s scoring leader five 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 seven 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; Cruze collected a career-high 16 points against Augsburg on Wednesday; 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.
• 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 121 rebounds (5.3 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. … Olson (105, 3.8 rpg) and Schaffer (103, 4.5 rpg) have also eclipsed the century mark in rebounds, with Schiernbeck chipping in 84 (3.8 rpg). … SMU has had a player reach double figures in rebounds five times this season. Olson has achieved the feat three times — including a career-high 13 boards against Elmhurst on Dec. 29, while Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn. / 13), Cruze (12), Schaffer (10) have also pulled down 10+ rebounds in a game this season. … The 13-rebound performances by Olson and Goettelman, and the 10-rebound showing by Schaffer, were all career-highs. … As a team, SMU hauled in a season-high 59 rebounds against Martin Luther on Nov. 11
• DOUBLING UP: Cruze posted her first double-double of the season — and third of her collegiate career — with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Augsburg on Wednesday. … Cruze is one of three SMU players with a double-double this season, being joined by Schaffer (15 points, 10 rebounds vs. Concordia on Dec. 4) and Goettelman (20 points, 13 boards vs. Martin Luther on Nov. 11). … The double-doubles by Schaffer and Goettelman were collegiate firsts. … 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 115 3-pointers through 23 games. Fink leads the charge with 27 3-pointers, followed by Wall with 23, Schaffer with 19, and Lettner and Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.) with 11. … 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 players who have reached the 20-assist mark, led by Wall with 40, Lettner with 37, Olson with 28, Fink and Schaffer with 26, and Schiernbeck with 22. … Lettner dished out a single-game, season-high seven assists against Augsburg on Wednesday. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has collected 231 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 34.6 percent from the field (440-for-1270), with 115 3-pointers, and have drained 221 of 350 free throws (63.1 %). … SMU is averaging 52.8 ppg, while its opponents are scoring at a 68.4 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s 78 points against Northland on Nov. 14 were a season-high. … SMU shot a season-best 43.8 percent from the field (21-for-48) against Macalester last Saturday
ST. CATHERINE SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Wildcats head into their Saturday matchup at Saint Mary’s sitting at 16-6 overall, including 12-5 in conference play.
• LAST TIME OUT: Emme Golembiewski scored 21 points and added 11 rebounds in leading the Wildcats to a convincing 74-63 win over Macalester Wednesday at Butler Center Gym in St. Paul, Minn.
• BIG TIME WIN: With Wednesday’s 11-point victory over Macalester, the Wildcats picked up their program-record 16th win of the season, while also earning SCU its first MIAC Playoff berth since the 2019-20 season. … St. Catherine currently sits third in the conference standings and with three MIAC games remaining, are still in the hunt for a first-round home playoff game.
• HOME SWEET HOME: St. Catherine closes out its regular-season schedule playing two of its final three games on the road, sandwiching games at Saint Mary’s (Saturday) and at Saint Benedict (Feb. 17) around a home finale against Augsburg on Wednesday. … The Wildcats are an impressive 9-2 on their home court, while sitting at 7-4 in their 11 games away from Butler Center Gym.
• COMING IN HOT: St. Catherine heads to the Saint Mary’s Gym in the midst of a four-game winning streak. SCU has not lost since dropping a lopsided 101-49 decision to league-leading and nationally ranked Gustavus on Jan. 27. Since that loss, the Wildcats have rattled off wins over Hamline (63-51), St. Olaf (64-39), Bethel (68-67), and Macalester (74-63). … SCU’s four-game winning streak is two shy of its season-high six-game run earlier this season. On the flip side, the Wildcats have lost back-to-back games just once this season — falling to Concordia (75-67) on Nov. 29 and to Hamline (73-56) on Dec. 4.
• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: The Wildcats boast a pair of players who head into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s averaging in double figures in scoring. Hattie Fox owns a team-best 14.0 ppg scoring average, while Greta Schimnowski is close behind at 11.1 ppg. Emme Golembiewski is third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.2 ppg, followed by Maddie Young at 6.1 ppg. … Fox has scored 10 or more points in 17 of the team’s 22 games, including a pair of 21-point efforts and a season-high 22-point showing against St. Olaf on Jan. 6. … SCU has had a 20-point scorer six times, including a season-high 25-opint performance by Schimnowski against Hamline on Jan. 31.
• CLEANING THE GLASS: Golembiewski has amassed a team-leading 163 rebounds (7.4 rpg). She is one of two Wildcats who have eclipsed the 100-rebound mark, being joined by Fox wit 113 (5.1 rpg). Young is just four boards shy of joining the 100-rebound club (96, 3.7 rpg), with Schimnowski chipping in 81 rebounds (3.7 rpg). … Fox — who owns a pair of double-doubles — pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds against Augsburg on Jan. 10. … Golembiewski picked up her first double-double of the season against Macalester on Wednesday, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. … As a team, SCU has pulled down 50+ rebounds twice — recording 51 against Buena Vista on Dec. 30, and a season-high 55 vs. Edgewood on Nov. 11.
• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: The Wildcats have knocked down 143 3-pointers through 22 games and are shooting 34.0 percent from behind the arc (143-for-421). … Schimnowski has drained a team-high 56 3-points and is one of five Wildcats with at least 10 treys this season. Fox is second to Schimnowski with 24 3-pointers, followed by Sydney Elliott (16), Rachel Randleman (14), and Kristen Lawton (10). … SCU drained a single-game season-high 13-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 31, with Schimnowski connecting on a season-high seven of those 13 3s.
• LENDING A HAND: Karis Zezza and Kaylee Miron have combined for 98 of the team’s 262 assists, with Zezza owning a team-best 57 helpers, followed by Miron with 41. Golembiewski (28), Fox (27), and Randleman (24) have also dished out more than 20 helpers this season. … St. Catherine recorded a season-high 19 assists against Buena Vista on Dec. 30, led by Miron with a season-best eight.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Wildcats are shooting 36.4 percent from the field (481-for-1321), with 143 3-pointers, and have converted on 343 of 470 free throws (73.0 %). … St. Catherine is averaging 65.8 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 61.9 ppg. … The Wildcats have scored 80 or more points four times this season, including a season-high 86-point effort in beating Saint Benedict 86-75 on Jan. 13. On the flip side, the Wildcats have allowed 80+ points four times — and has allowed 100 or more twice — falling to Concordia 100-58 on Jan. 17 and to Gustavus 101-49 10 days later.
