ST. PAUL, Minn. – After posting a game full of season-high offensive performances on Monday, the Gustavus women's basketball team, which jumped up to No. 6 in the nation in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll, struggled to make shots against St. Catherine (6-5, 1-3 MIAC), but used 40 rebounds and a stifling defense to keep the Wildcats at bay, winning 52-41 on the road to improve to 11-0 overall and 4-0 in the MIAC.
SCU kept pace with the Gusties through the first frame, but a big second quarter gave Gustavus the lead for good. The Wildcats cut the score to single digits a number of times in the third and fourth frames, but the combined second half performances of
Emma Kniefel (5th, Medford, Minn.) and
Kylie Baranick (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) lifted the team to victory, as well as a game-high haul of 10 rebounds for
Izzy Quick (5th, Brooklyn Park, Minn.).
Gustavus struggled from the floor to start the game, allowing the home team to take a quick lead in the first eight minutes of play. The Gusties went just 1-for-7 from three-point range in the first quarter and 4-for-21 from the field, but collected seven offensive rebounds off the glass and conceded only two turnovers to limit the damage from the Wildcats.
Syd Hauger (5th, Springfield, Minn.) sunk a pair of free throws to tie the score at 10 apiece. Gustavus used perfect shooting from the charity stripe and a late jumper from
Morgan Kelly (Sr., Saint Peter, Minn.) to keep the score tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter.
The Gustie defense stole the spotlight in quarter two, forcing eight turnovers for seven points. Gustavus got seven points off the bench, five of which came from
Kendyl Queensland (So., Grand Meadow, Minn.), who went 2-for-2 in the second quarter with the team's only made three-pointer to put the visitors up by 10, 27-17. The Wildcats fell victim to the same cold shooting, going only 2-for-7 from the field and struggled defensively, collecting just one steal to the Gusties' six for a 27-20 Gustavus lead at the break.
Four quick points out of the hands of
Rachel Kawiecki (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) proved to be the difference in the third quarter, as the Wildcats used a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to four late in the quarter. After a quick
Laurie Kelly timeout, Quick hit a jumper and Baranick sunk her first three-pointer of the day to re-extend the lead. SCU added a trey of its own to close out the frame with a 38-32 advantage for the No. 6 Gusties. St. Catherine cut the lead to four once more on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but Kelly answered, followed by five points from Kniefel for a 3-for-3 start from the floor in the final frame for GAC. Both teams went an even 7-7 for the final seven minutes of play, but the Gustie lead held for a 52-41 victory on the road.
Gustavus finished just 30 percent from the field (18-for-60), the team's lowest mark of the season, shooting 5-for-16 from long range (31.3 percent). The Gusties went 11-for-11 from the foul line, the first perfect free throw game of the season, and first since the 2019-20 campaign, when the team went 18-for-18 from the line in a 77-74 loss to Augsburg. Thanks large in part to the performance of Quick, the Gusties dominated the glass, out-rebounding SCU 40-24, including a 17-5 mark in offensive boards. The 17 offensive rebounds are the second-most this season, just one shy of the high set at UW-La Crosse on Nov. 9. The Gusties collected 10 steals and four blocks, forcing 14 turnovers, and holding St. Catherine to 28.9 percent shooting from the field.
Kniefel led the squad with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting, while Quick added nine, and Kawiecki and Baranick each posted eight. Quick collected six offensive rebounds and four defensive, as well as a pair of assists, three steals, and a block. Baranick added three steals of her own, as well as a game-high five assists, and two blocks.
Hattie Fox led the St. Catherine offense with 11 points on 2-for-5 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 from distance. She added three steals and seven rebounds in a complete performance for the home team.
The Gusties return to St. Paul to face Macalester (7-4, 2-2 MIAC) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
