DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's and women's basketball teams will have their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) home openers on Saturday when they face Bethany Lutheran College at the Reif Gymnasium.
Men's Basketball
3-4, 1-0 UMAC
Overall Statistics
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 3 p.m.
UMAC GAME OF THE WEEK
Live Video: http://csssaints.com/watch/?Live=86
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/mbball/
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints opened conference play with a 19-point victory at rival University of Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday.
-
Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) scored the team's first 13 points on his way to a game-high 22 points.
-Newman is the only Saint to have scored in double-figures in each of the first seven games.
-Newman ranks second in the UMAC averaging 2.0 steals per game.
-CSS has out-rebounded its last four opponents by at least 10 rebounds per game.
-The Saints have sunk at least 10 free throws in each of the first seven games and lead the conference making 75 percent.
-St. Scholastica has yet to commit more than 14 turnovers in a game.
-CSS leads the conference with a +1.29 turnover margin.
-The Saints rank fourth in NCAA Division III committing only 13 fouls per game.
What You Need to Know about Bethany Lutheran:
-The Vikings enter Saturday's early season showdown with a 3-5 overall record and 1-0 in league play.
-BLC opened the conference season with a bang by blowing out the University of Northwestern 97-72.
-Like the Saints, Bethany has also beaten University of Wisconsin-Stout this season.
-However, the Vikings lost at home to Luther College (Iowa), a team the Saints beat in Superior over Thanksgiving.
-BLC is the second-highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 81.3 points per game.
-Bethany shoots a league-best .392 from beyond the arc, but also allow opponents to 43 percent from 3-point land.
-The Vikings have the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 1.33.
-Trenton Krueger leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game.
-Krueger also grabs a team-high 6.4 rebounds per contest and leads the conference making 68 percent of his field goals.
-Neil Eichten leads the UMAC with 5.1 assists per game.
Series Record: BLC leads 16-14
(Last Meeting: 90-70 CSS – 2/22/2017)
Series History: The Saints ended Bethany Lutheran's season last year with a 90-70 victory in the UMAC Tournament semifinals in Mankato … The Vikings won the two regular season meetings.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 58 points (4 First Place Votes)
2. Bethany Lutheran - 57 points (3 First Place Votes)
3. Northwestern - 54 points (2 First Place Votes)
4. Minnesota Morris - 42 points
5. Crown - 34 points
6. Wisconsin-Superior - 28 points
7. Northland - 24 points
8. North Central - 18 points
9. Martin Luther - 9 points
Women's Basketball
3-3, 0-1 UMAC
Overall Statistics
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 5 p.m.
Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/watch/?Live=96
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/wbball/
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The have lost two straight, including a conference-opening loss to Bridge Rival University of Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday.
-The Saints made a season-ow 18 field goals in the loss.
-Freshman
Kaylee Kennedy (Littlefork, Minn./Littlefork-Big Falls HS) led the Saints off the bench with a season-high 15 points.
-Kennedy is averaging 14.5 in the last two games.
-CSS was without guards
Michala Walther (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and
Rashonna Thomas (Minneapolis, Minn./Columbia Heights HS (Anoka-Ramsey CC)) on Wednesday and they may be out again on Saturday.
-The Saints have been out-rebounded by an average of 19 rebounds in their last two losses.
-St. Scholastica is 3-0 when it commits less than 20 turnovers and 0-3 when it commits more than 20 turnovers.
-CSS leads the conference, averaging 10.5 steals per game.
What You Need to Know about Bethany Lutheran:
-The Vikings enter Saturday's matchup with a 5-2 overall record and 0-1 in conference play.
-Bethany won its first five games of the season, but have since lost two straight.
-BLC fell to the University of Northwestern 63-52 on Wednesday.
-The Vikings are the highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 72.0 points per game.
-The Vikings also allow the most points per game in the league at 69.3.
-Bethany leads the UMAC making 70.5 percent of its free throws with the Saints second at 68.8 percent.
-BLC leads the conference with a +3.00 turnover margin and a 0.79 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-Haley Sandin leads the UMAC averaging 19.3 points per game.
-Sandin also leads the conference with 3.6 assists per game.
-Sandin averages a league-high 37 minutes on the floor per game.
-The Vikings rank 12
th in NCAA Division III with 122 made free throws and Sandin is eighth in the country with 46 free throws made.
-Brooke Henning averages a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game.
Series Record: CSS leads 18-8
(Last Meeting: 68-61 CSS – 2/3/2017)
Series History: The Saints snapped a three-game losing skid to Bethany Lutheran with a 68-61 victory at the Reif last season … CSS is 10-3 all-time at home against the Vikings.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. UW-Superior - 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. Minnesota Morris - 52 points (1 First Place Vote)
3. Northwestern - 51 points
4. Bethany Lutheran - 40 points
5. St. Scholastica- 38 points
6. Martin Luther - 33 points
7. Northland - 21 points
8. North Central - 15 points
9. Crown - 10 points
Up Next: Both teams remain at home to face North Central University (Minn.) in a UMAC doubleheader on Wednesday. The men begin at 5:30 and the women follow at 7:30.
