SAINT PETER, Minn. - Gustavus women's basketball was able to outrebound the Pipers by 10 and use an 18-point performance from junior
Kaitlyn Schaefer (Eagan, Minn.) to sweep Hamline in regular season MIAC play, taking tonight's game 59-55. The Gusties were able to wiggle out of a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter after not trailing in a game since January 14th.
Wednesday's matchup was a highly touted matchup for MIAC women's basketball fans, pitting Gustavus (11-6, 7-3 MIAC) against Hamline (14-3, 8-2 MIAC). Coming into the games, the Pipers were tied for first in the conference with Concordia and Bethel and the Gusties in a four-way tie for fourth. In the first matchup this season, the Gusties topped Hamline at Hutton Arena in the first MIAC game of the season, 53-50. The Pipers lead at halftime, 37-22, before Gustavus stormed back with a 17-4 third quarter and junior
Ella Peters (River Falls, Wis.) hit the game-winner with 38 seconds left from beyond the arc.
Peters got the Gusties going with a layup and junior
Whitley Ronn (Lakeville, Minn.) added two free throws for an early 4-0 lead, but a 6-2 run by the Pipers knotted the game up at six. From there, Gustavus hit three-pointers on two consecutive trips down the court and added two jumpers to take an eight point lead, 16-8, but Hamline scored the last six points of the quarter to close the gap down to 16-14 through 10 minutes. Both of the teams ranked top five in rebounding margin going into the game and proved their prowess in the first quarter, with the Pipers holding a slight advantage, 7-6. The teams made the same amount of shots and threes at six and two, respectively, but Hamline missed one more three to give the Gusties a slight shooting advantage.
Sophomore
Olivia Grothaus (Hudson, Wis.) hit a three-pointer to bring the lead back to five which was the start of a 7-2 run to bring the lead up to seven just 2:30 into the second quarter, but the lead would not hold for long. The Pipers would go on an 11-3 run themselves, capped off by their first lead of the game, 27-26, with 1:23 remaining in the half but junior
Kendyl Queensland (Grand Meadow, Minn.) would tie it up 27-27 at the charity stripe and the score would hold until the intermission.
Hamline never touched the charity stripe in the first half compared to the Gusties 3-for-4 (75 percent) performance, while the teams were deadlocked at 15 rebounds each through 20 minutes. From the floor, the Gusties shot 38.5 percent (10-for-26) and 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from beyond the arc. As for the Pipers, they shot 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from the floor and 3-for-9 (33.3 percent) from three-point land. Hamline used the paint to their advantage, being responsible for 16 of their 27 points and the Gusties got the majority of their points from their starters, with only seven points off the bench.
Out of the locker room, the Pipers took an early three point lead, with a driving layup and-one to set the tone for the half. The Gusties extinguished the momentum though and took some of their own, going on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 33-30. The lead only got as high as four, with the Gusties using another small 4-0 run via Peters and sophomore
Bella Sutch (Blaine, Minn.) to lead 37-33. Hamline tied it with 1:10 left in the frame, but Schaefer continued to be stellar beyond the arc, hitting a three to give the Gusties the lead, 41-38 with 10 to go.
Once again hot out of the gate, Hamline went on an 8-1 to start the quarter, putting the Gusties on their heels, down by four with 7:00 to go. The same script once again followed though, this time more animated for the Gusties. On the next two consecutive offensive possessions, Schaefer showed why she is one of the best three-point shooters in the nation, knocking down threes to give Gustavus the lead once again. Ronn followed suit, taking after Schaefer and hitting a corner three of her own to extend the lead to five with five to play. The lead was cut down to three seconds later, but then the scoring went dark for both teams for the next two minutes.
Sophomore standout
Anna Goodman scored the next four points for the Gusties, all at the free throw line to push the lead up to eight. The free throw woes for Gustavus continued as the Pipers intentionally fouled, with Schaefer and Grothaus both going one-for-two, keeping the lead at eight with 39 seconds left. The Pipers did not let up, scoring quickly on a layup and forcing an offensive foul to get the ball back. After a turnover for each side, Hamline hit a three to cut the lead to three, but the Gusties were able to close out the game, sweeping Hamline in the regular season by winning 59-55.
Schaefer led the team with 18 points including 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Peters led with 10 rebounds and nine points, while Goodman had a team-high five assists and tied with Ronn with four steals. As a team, the Gusties led from three-point range, shooting 8-for-20 (40 percent) but only making 10 shots from inside the three point line. Gustavus was able to make up for the small amount of field goals made with an additional 14 points at the free throw line, a 34-24 rebounding margin, and a small 14-9 advantage in second chance points.
The MIAC slate gets no easier for the Gusties, who host Concordia, who is receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
