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Cardinal Roster
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Cardinal Statistics
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Cardinal Schedule
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MIAC Standings
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MIAC Statistics
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| 2006-2007 Records: 1-5 MIAC, 3-6 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: St. Olaf 63, Saint Mary's 45 / Details Gustavus 74, Saint Mary's 43 / Details |
| Upcoming Games: Mon., Jan. 8: St. Catherine at SMU, 7:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 10: SMU at Carleton, 7:45 p.m. Sat., Jan. 13: Augsburg at SMU, 3 p.m. |
| Cardinal News and Notes: Kelly Tanke (La Crosse, Wis.) scored a game-high 15 points — including 13 in the first half — in Wednesday’s loss to St. Olaf. … Tanke’s 15 points were one shy of the Cardinals’ individual season high, a 16-point effort from Jessica Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.) vs. Macalester on Dec. 4. … Tanke also posted season highs for field goals made (7) and field goals attempted (14). … Weisbrod posted a season-best four blocked shots vs. the Oles. … Stephanie Ayers (Deer River, Minn.) scored a career-high 12 points in Saturday's loss to Gustavus. … SMU scored just 17 second-half points vs. St. Olaf, marking the third time this season the Cardinals have been held under 20 points for a half. … SMU's 43 points scored vs. Gustavus were the Cardinals' second-fewest this season. … Gustavus forced the Cardinals to turn the ball over a season-high 37 times. … SMU's losses to St. Olaf and Gustavus extended its losing streak to a season-high three straight. … Saturday's loss to GAC marked the fourth time this season SMU has allowed more than 70 points. |
mood in back-to-back losses to St. Olaf, Gustavus
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Stephanie
Ayers Career-high 12 points vs. Gustavus |
He liked it when it was first released on the big screen, and he enjoyed seeing it a couple of times on VHS and on cable TV.
But when Stimmel replaced Bill Murray as the main character in the Cardinals' real-life version of Groundhog Day, he didn't find it nearly as entertaining.
"It's like reliving the same day over and over again — just like in the movie," admitted Stimmel, after his Cardinals once again proved to be their own worst enemy in falling to Gustavus 74-43 last Saturday afternoon at the SMU Gym. "Gustavus is a very good team, and we knew coming in that we were going to have our hands full.
"But we did not do a very good job taking care of the basketball," continued Stimmel, whose team dropped its season-high third straight. "You just can't turn the ball over the way we did and expect to compete with a team like Gustavus — or any team in the MIAC."
The Cardinals, who turned the ball over 26 times in Wednesday's 63-45 loss to St. Olaf, were once again in a giving mood on Saturday, as Gustavus forced SMU into a season-high 37 turnovers — turning the Cardinals' miscues into 31 points — and cruised to the lopsided win.
"It's the same old story — turnovers are killing us right now," said Stimmel. "I thought we did a much better job (vs. Gustavus) of getting good looks at the basket and taking good shots, but when you turn the ball over 37 times, it's pretty tough to stay in games, much less win them."
Gustavus, led by Jess Vadnais' 17 first-half points, netted as many points in the opening 20 minutes as SMU managed in the game, jumping out to a 43-21 lead at the half, then outscored the Cardinals 31-22 over the final 20 minutes to secure the win.
Jess Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.) and Stephanie Ayers (Deer River, Minn.) each netted a team-high 12 points for SMU, while Vadnais finished with 21 points and Bri Monahan added 13 for the Gusties.
"Despite the final score, there were plenty of things that I thought we did much better (Saturday) than we did against St. Olaf," said Stimmel. "We've got to keep working hard and striving to improve game-by-game, and, hopefully, the positive results will follow."