2/18/06 - Mount Mercy (15-14, 7-6) at SAU (19-9, 9-4)

Series History: SAU leads the all-time series 41-15. The Lady Mustangs have won three of the last four meetings.

Last meeting: St. Ambrose defeated Mount Mercy earlier this season 72-53 in Cedar Rapids. Jennifer Goetz led SAU with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds. Jena Zientek recorded 12 points and six rebounds. Jody Wulff also had a solid game, chipping in with nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Mount Mercy was led by Katie Smith’s 12 points and seven rebounds. Ali Goldsmith scored eight for the Lady Mustangs.

SAU’s Last Time Out: Iowa Wesleyan clinched the outright MCC title with a 74-66 win over the Queen Bees in Mt. Pleasant. Goetz recorded a team-high 26 points and 13 rebounds. Zientek added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Junior Ashlie Maher scored 11 points for the third consecutive game off the bench.

Looking Ahead: St. Ambrose begins their “second season” Thursday as they’ll host a first round playoff game against either Viterbo or Ashford at 7:00.

Heating Up: Jena Zientek is one Queen Bee who’s stepped up her game as of late. The Oak Lawn, Illinois native is averaging 10.6 points per game in her last five contests. That is more than three points above her season average. Zientek is also averaging five rebounds per game in that span.

D-Fence: Don’t expect today’s game to be an offensive explosion. St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy have two of the top defenses in the MCC. SAU leads the league in fewest points allowed, giving up 56.6 points per game. The Lady Mustangs aren’t far behind, ranking second in the conference, allowing 59.3 points per game.

Bounce Back: The Queen Bees have done a good job of adjusting their game plan after a loss this season. SAU has had just one losing streak this year, dropping four straight over Christmas break, three of which were to ranked teams. SAU has won by at least 16 points in games after losses this season.

Tough Luck: Mount Mercy’s fourth place position in the conference could be deceiving at first glance. The Lady Mustangs have gone to overtime three times in the conference season, losing all three, including both games they played against conference leader Iowa Wesleyan.

Goetz Approaches Milestones: After scoring 26 points on Wednesday, junior Jennifer Goetz is now seventh on SAU’s all-time scoring list with 1,479 points in less than three full years in the program. Goetz needs just one point to pass Lynda Talley (1979-83) for sixth place all-time. Goetz also ranks sixth on the school’s all-time rebounding list. She needs 71 rebounds to move ahead of Brandy Scheckel (1992-96) for fifth all-time.

How They've Fared To This Point:

Mount Mercy

St. Ambrose

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