ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team has had no difficulty rising to the challenge against both the top teams in the region and in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). On Saturday, the Wildcats will take on their toughest opponent of the season, as they take on the University of St. Thomas at 3 p.m.
Games between St. Kate's and the Tommies have always been highly entertaining, especially over the past two years. Despite having a 1-2 record against their conference rivals, the Wildcats have scored 187 points in their last three games against St. Thomas and even beat their conference rivals for the first time in six years in 2016.
Saturday's game will take place at St. Thomas' Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. For those who can't watch the game in person,
live stats and
video will be available and score updates will be made on St. Kate's official Twitter page (@stkateswildcats).
Here are the five things to know before Saturday's 3 p.m. tip off between the Tommies and Wildcats:
1st – St. Kate's is still looking for its first MIAC game of the season thanks to losses against Carleton and Concordia in the past two weeks. The Wildcats dropped both MIAC games by less than 10 points, falling to the Knights 61-56 last week before losing to the Cobbers 56-49 on Wednesday.
7/11 – St. Thomas will be the first ranked opponent St. Kate's has played all season. The Tommies, who started the season as the No. 2 team in the country, were recently ranked in both the d3hoops.com (No. 11) and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (No. 7) polls this past week.
61.7 – The Wildcats have had no issues scoring early and often this season, as they average 61.7 points a game through the first six games. St. Kate's has also been extremely stingy on defense, as the team has held opponents to just 59.0 points per game this 2017-18 season.
55.7 – Sophomore forward
Danica Cambrice (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) has been a big part of the Wildcats offense this season, accounting for nearly 40% of the team's offense in the six games she's appeared in. Her field goal percentage of 55.7 currently leads St. Kate's and ranks No. 5 in the MIAC.
19.5 – St. Thomas forward Hannah Spaulding was named MIAC Women's Basketball Athlete-of-the-Week after averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds in two games last weekend. Spaulding helped the Tommies improve to 4-1 this season with wins over UW-Stevens Point and Hamline. She currently leads the MIAC in points per game (20.4) and field goal percentage (64.3) this season.
