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HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Saint Mary’s (24-3) earned an at-large bid, after clinching its first MIAC regular-season title since the 1985-86 season, the finished second in the MIAC Tournament, falling to St. Thomas 71-58 in the title game last Saturday at the SMU Gym in Winona, Minn. The national tournament appearance is the first in 28 years for the Cardinals. |
CARDINAL PROBABLE STARTERS:
#10 Bridget Pethke (So., G: 10.8 ppg, 124 assists) | Individual Stats
#14 Sara Schoenthaler (So., G: 5.3 ppg, 26 3-pointers) | Individual Stats
#22 Darcey Rice (Sr., G: 8.1 ppg, 55 3-pointers) | Individual Stats
#24 Shelby Auseth (So., F, 10.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 26 3-pointers) | Individual Stats
#31 Courtney Euerle (Sr., F, 13.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 56 assists) | Individual Stats |
CARDINAL TOURNAMENT NOTES:
The Cardinals are making their first NCAA national tournament appearance since the 1985-86 season, when SMU opened with a 67-63 loss to Concordia, before beating Pomona-Pitzer 73-57 in the third-place game. … The Cardinals enters NCAA tournament play ranked No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … With their 94-63 MIAC Tournament semifinal win over Bethel on Feb. 27, the Cardinals collected their 24th victory of the season, equaling the school record for wins in a season — originally set during the 1984-85 season (24-2) and matched a year later in 1985-86 (24-3). … The Cardinals’ regular-season conference title is the third in program history — putting them in an elite group of just five MIAC teams who have won three or more women’s basketball conference championships. … Last Saturday’s loss to St. Thomas in the MIAC Tournament title game was the Cardinals’ first loss at home this season, and snapped their 17-game home winning streak, dating back to a 64-54 loss to Concordia on Feb. 3, 2013. … The Cardinals are 25-2 on their home court over the past two seasons. … SMU boasted a 20-point scorer for the fourth straight game last Saturday, as Courtney Euerle netted 22 points in SMU’s 71-58 loss to St. Thomas. … Euerle’s 22-point effort against St. Thomas marked the third time in a 14-day span the Cardinal senior netted a career-best 22 points. … After not scoring more than 17 points in her first three seasons as a Cardinal, Euerle has eclipsed the 20-point mark six times this season. … Euerle heads into Friday’s NCAA tournament opener owning four double-doubles this season and eight in her four-year collegiate career. … With her 22 points against St. Thomas last Saturday, Euerle has now scored in double figures 20 times this season and 48 times in her fourth years in a Cardinal uniform. … SMU has had a player score 20 or more points in a game 10 times this season — highlighted by Bridget Pethke’s (New London, Wis.) career-high 32-point outburst against St. Olaf on Jan. 29. … Pethke’s 32-point performance — 17 points better than her previous career-high of 15 set against Saint Benedict on Jan. 25 — was just 10 points shy of the school record 42 points, set by Mary Schultz against St. Olaf during the 1985-86 season, and equaled by Tricia Rasmussen against UW-Oshkosh in 1992-93. … SMU has had five or more players score in double figures in the same game five times this season — including six double-figure scorers in its 107-29 win over Crown on Nov. 23. … Euerle enters NCAA Tournament play leading the team in both scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). … Pethke and Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) are also averaging in double figures at 10.8 ppg and 10.7 ppg, respectively. … SMU boasted a pair of double-double performers in their Feb. 1 win over Concordia — Euerle recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Miriam Awoniyi (Country Club Hills, Ill.) finished with 10 points and 13 boards. … The double-double was the first of Awoniyi’s collegiate career. … Awoniyi’s 13 rebounds vs. CC were also a career-high. … SMU drained a season-high 32 free throws on 39 attempts against Bethel Thursday. … Pethke has dished out a single-season career-high 124 assists through 27 games this season — including a career-best eight in SMU’s regular-season finale against Augsburg. … Pethke’s 124 assists this season rank No. 6 all-time. … As a team, SMU owns 161 3-pointers this season — ranking third-most in program history. … SMU has drained a season-high nine 3-pointers in a game three times this season. … Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) has knocked down a team-leading 55 3-pointers, which is the fourth-most in program history and just five shy of the school record 60, set by Ashley Luehmann in 2004-05. … With their 94-point showing against Bethel in the MIAC Tournament semifinal on Feb. 27, SMU has scored 90 or more points three times this season — and heads into NCAA Tournament action averaging 71.9 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 57.9 ppg. … SMU’s 69-62 win over Gustavus on Feb. 15 was the Cardinals’ only overtime game of the season. … The Cardinals have played just one OT game in each of their last three seasons. … SMU’s 65-48 loss to St. Thomas on Feb. 8 snapped the Cardinals’ 16-game winning streak — a run that was just three games short of the longest win streak in program history. … SMU’s 72-69 win over Concordia on Feb. 1 — coupled with its 66-57 win over the Cobbers in their first meeting on Jan. 4 — marked the first since the 1984-85 season that the Cardinals have swept their regular-season series against Concordia. … SMU’s first win vs. the Cobbers on Jan. 4 snapped an 18-game losing streak against the Cobbers dating back to a 71-58 win on Feb. 15, 2004. It was also SMU’s first win at Concordia’s Memorial Auditorium since the Cardinals recorded a 58-46 win on Jan. 20, 2003. … The Cardinals broke a pair of long-standing school records with their 107-29 victory over Crown on Nov. 23. The Cardinals’ 107 points were a school record — breaking the previous high of 106 set in a 106-30 win over Carleton on Feb. 19, 1986. SMU’s 78-point margin of victory was also a new school record, two points better than the old mark of 76, also set during that Feb. 19, 1986 win over Carleton. |
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