SAINT PETER, Minn. - Gustavus women's basketball used a second half surge, including only allowing two points in the fourth quarter, to get a MIAC win on Saturday, defeating St. Catherine, 53-40. Junior
Ella Peters (River Falls, Wis.) scored 20 points and sophomore
Anna Goodman (Lakeville, Minn.) had a near triple-double to lift the Gusties to a win.
The first quarter of the game started cold with each team not scoring on their first four possessions, when St. Kate's got the scoring going with a three-pointer, which Goodman responded to with a three for the Gusties. The Wildcats went on a 8-1 run over the next three minutes to extend their lead to seven and got the lead up to nine with 1:15 remaining in the quarter.
Peyton Stevermer (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) ended the scoring for the quarter with a three for her fifth points of the game to tighten the score to 15-9 in favor of the Wildcats after the first frame.
The Gusties turned it up in the second quarter, using a 6-0 run early in the quarter to pull within two, thanks to juniors Peters and
Whitley Ronn (Lakeville, Minn.) and sophomore
Bella DeHaan (Lakeville, Minn.), who all found the basket. Gustavus took their first lead of the game on the tail end of another 5-0 run, rounding out a larger 11-2 run, with a DeHaan layup to make the score 20-19. St. Kate's took the lead right back and responded with four points for themselves and Peters made a layup for the Gusties to put them just one point away from the lead at halftime.
The third quarter was tightly contested, with the Gusties having a 16-15 advantage to tie the game going into the fourth quarter. Peters got the Gusties going, scoring the first seven points and making the first four field goals of the second half for the Gusties. After going down five points just before the halfway mark in the quarter, the Gusties went on a 6-0 run themselves to take a one point lead, 33-32. St. Kate's responded with a three-pointer to regain the lead, but the Gusties ended the quarter on a 5-3 run to tie the game with one quarter left.
The fourth quarter was exactly what the Gusties needed to lift themselves to a victory, only allowing two points for the Wildcats, thanks to forcing six turnovers and a 1-for-12 shooting performance for St. Kate's. In the first five minutes, Gustavus jumped out to a 45-38 lead, thanks to
Bella Sutch (So., Blaine, Minn.), Goodman, and Peters. From there, while having a three-minute scoring drought, the Gusties didn't allow a basket either and gave themselves a cushion with an 8-0 run to end the game and win 53-40.
Goodman was once again a standout for the Gusties with a balanced clip, nine points, seven assists, and 10 rebounds. Peters scored 20 points for the third time in five games to lead all players and Ronn stole the ball away four times to help secure the victory.
The Gusties return to action on Wednesday, January 14th, when they make the long road trip up to Concordia, set for a 5:45 p.m. tipoff.
