DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team begins a three-game home stand this weekend when it hosts Northland College on Friday night and Finlandia University (Mich.) on Saturday.
 
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
 
When:
Friday vs. Northland – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. Finlandia – 5 p.m.
 
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 1-7, 0-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
Last Action: The Saints opened conference play last weekend and suffered a pair of defeats to Martin Luther College on Friday night and Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday … CSS scored a season-high 49 points in the second half in a comeback at MLC on Friday, but fell 71-67 … Freshman Michala Walther (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) led the way with 18 points … On Saturday, the Saints were out-scored 28-13 in the fourth quarter in a 74-57 loss to the Vikings … Brittani Brennan (Ashland, Wis./Ashland HS) led the team with 18 points.
 
Short-Handed: Leading scorer Kelsey Sorenson-Giffrow (Braham, Minn./Braham HS (Minn. Duluth)) suffered an injury in practice last week … It is undetermined how long she will be out … Prior to her injury she was third in the league in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game and led the UMAC with 18 3-point field goals.
 
Finlandia Added into Schedule Rotation: With the University of Wisconsin-Superior entering the league this season that gave the UMAC an odd number (9) of teams … To retain the travel partner Friday/Saturday conference schedule, Finlandia University (Mich.) has been added to the rotation as a non-conference member and will be a travel partner with Northland College.
 
Defend the 3: Opponents are shooting a conference-best 39 percent on 3-point attempts against the Saints this season … Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran combined to shoot 50 percent from beyond the arc last weekend.
 
Cherish the Ball: The Saints have committed at least 20 turnovers in six of their first eight games … In the final 11 games of last season, CSS had over 20 turnovers in a game only once and had an eight-game winning streak during that stretch.

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UMAC Preseason Poll
1.   59 Points – University of Northwestern (4 First Place Votes)
2.   56 Points – University of Minnesota Morris (3)
3.   55 Points – University of Wisconsin-Superior (2)
4.   44 Points – College of St. Scholastica
5.   33 Points – Martin Luther College
6.   31 Points – Bethany Lutheran College
7.   17 Points – Crown College
8.   16 Points – Northland College
9.   13 Points – North Central University

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Upcoming Opponents
Northland LumberJills
Record: 2-2, 1-1 UMAC
 
The LumberJills split their games last weekend, falling to the University of Northwestern 72-61 and defeating North Central University 57-42 … This will be Northland's first road trip of the year as it has played its first four games at home … Junior guard Briana Tody leads the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game … She is fifth in the league with 13 made 3-point field goals … Another junior Bethany Best leads the team and is sixth in the UMAC averaging seven rebounds per game … The 'Jills lead the conference with 8.8 3-pointers per game and 26 3-point attempts per game … They also lead in the conference in holding opponents to 26 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Finlandia Lions
Record: 0-6
 
The Lions will be in search of their first win this weekend as they will face UW-Superior before taking on the Saints on Saturday … Five of six losses this season have been by double-figures with the exception of a five-point loss to North Central University on Friday … Brooke Pasanen leads the team in scoring at 9.5 points per game … Kelsie Richards is putting up 9.3 points per contest … Valerie Rajala is averaging nine points and six rebounds per game.
 
Series Histories:
-CSS leads Northland 43-33
-CSS leads Finlandia 24-10
 
Last Meetings: The Saints have won five straight against the LumberJills all by an average margin of 37.4 points … CSS has not lost at home against Northland since 2010 … The Saints split with Finlandia last season with each team winning on its home court … CSS is 15-3 al-time at home against the Lions.

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Looking Ahead: The Saints will have their final game of the 2015 calendar year on Tuesday, December 15 when it hosts University of Wisconsin-Stout in the Reif Gymnasium.