WINONA, Minn. - Gustavus women's basketball made the trip down to Winona on Saturday for a MIAC matchup against Saint Mary's, losing 83-73 in double overtime. Ella Peters (Jr., River Falls, Wis.) led the Gusties with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double in a game where four different Gusties eclipsed 10 points. 

The Gusties and Cardinals traded baskets to start the game, climbing the ladder to tie the game at six. At this junction, Saint Mary's went on a 7-2 run to give themselves a 13-8 lead just over halfway through the quarter. A three pointer by Kaitlyn Schaefer (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) closed the gap to two, but a defensive stop bookended by baskets helped bring the lead to six for Saint Mary's, their largest of the quarter. Peters hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to close the gap to four heading into the second quarter. Peyton Stevermer (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) was a standout for the Gusties, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 for six points in the first quarter to pace the team. Gustavus held strong against a Cardinal team on fire in the first frame who shot 8-for-9 and scored 19 points compared to Gustavus' 15.  

The second quarter started much like the first quarter, with the teams trading baskets and seeing which team would flinch first. The Gusties held an early 7-6 advantage through the first five minutes of the quarter, thanks to two consecutive baskets from Peters and a three-pointer by Whitley Ronn (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) to tighten the score to within three. The teams continued to trade baskets, but a late foul allowed Saint Mary's to extend their lead to five at the halftime break. While the Gusties shot 40 percent from the floor compared to the Cardinals' 23.1 percent, Gustavus committed 10 turnovers to allow Saint Mary's to hold their lead, 31-25.

After the halftime break, the Gusties came out on an early 6-1 run over the first three minutes to tie the game back up at 32. Over the course of the third quarter, Saint Mary's only scored five points, including the Gustavus defense holding them to a 1-13 performance from the field. The quarter was bookended by 5-0 and 8-0 runs for the Gusties, including five straight points from Peters to retake the lead for the away team, the first time since leading 4-2 in the first quarter. A three pointer from Anna Goodman (So., Lakeville, Minn.) with 1:29 left got the score to 42-36, which would hold until the end of the quarter. 

The lead did not sustain long, as Saint Mary's responded with six straight points themselves to open the fourth quarter. From there, the lead would only ever go as high as three, as the teams traded buckets down the stretch. Bella De Haan (So., Lakeville, Minn.) made a layup with 1:48 remaining, but Brianna Nusbaum made a three for Saint Mary's to tie the game. Saint Mary's got the ball back after a miss by Peters with the shot clock turned off, but Stevermer drew a foul to give the Gusties the ball back with five seconds left. After a timeout, a heave from Ronn did not fall, setting the game up for overtime. 

In overtime, little changed from the first four quarters. The game was tightly contested, as shown in team stats like Gustavus shooting 3-for-7 (42.9%) and Saint Mary's shooting 4-for-9 (44.4%). After Saint Mary's scored on their first possession, Gustavus stormed back with five points themselves, taking the lead 63-60 with 2:51 left. From there, the teams traded five points each, giving Gustavus the lead 68-65 with just over a minute left. The Cardinals closed the gap to one, where Goodman made one free throw to make it a two-point game. Instead of going for the win, Saint Mary's elected to tie the game with a driving layup by Nusbaum. Gustavus took the ball with 14 seconds left, but could not score, sending the game to double overtime. Saint Mary's started the second overtime period with a three to take the lead and Gustavus couldn't quite recover after the Cardinals made another layup, extending the lead to five. A DeHaan free throw got the game back as close as two, but the Gusties couldn't find the hoop again and a series of free throws from Saint Mary's pushed the lead to 10 by the end. 

The game was nearly identical for each team in every statistical category, with Gustavus holding a small advantage in three point percentage and rebounds, but fell behind in scoring 14 less points than Saint Mary's at the free throw line and committing four more turnovers. Peters led the Gusties with a double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds), followed by Goodman, also with 18 points, five assists, and five steals and Ronn also had three of the four blocks for the Gusties in addition to 10 points.

The Gusties continue their MIAC slate on Wednesday, when they travel to St. Joseph to play against Saint Benedict, scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.