SAINT PETER, Minn. - After losing in double overtime in December, women's basketball defeated Saint Mary's 73-68 to lock up the No. 2 seed in the MIAC Playoffs on Saturday afternoon. Four different players eclipsed double digits and withheld a late run by the Cardinals to give themselves a home game on Thursday night.
Saturday also marked senior day for the Gusties, honoring their sole senior
Bobbie Bruns (Blooming Prairie, Minn.). Bruns has been a part of three teams that have made the NCAA Tournament so far, including the team that made the Elite Eight last season and the record with her on the team now stands at 98 wins and 15 losses.
Gustavus took an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter, but Saint Mary's settled in with a 6-0 run for themselves to take the lead right back. The Gusties from there went on a 16-4 tirade where they went 6-for-6 shooting including 2-for-2 from three with point contributions from six different players. Saint Mary's ended on a 5-0 run to bring the game within four but the difference in the quarter proved to be an 8-3 rebounding advantage for the Gusties and a 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) shooting performance from the field.
Saint Mary's continued their run into the second quarter to extend it to 9-0 and tie the game, but Gustavus broke the run and responded with four of their own to reestablish the four point margin. The Cardinals continued to push back though, this time going on a 9-3 run to take a 30-28 lead, which would prove to be their last lead of the contest. Junior
Ella Peters (River Falls, Wis.) scored on two straight trips down the floor after the Cardinal push and the teams then traded baskets the rest of the way to send the teams into the locker room with a 34-32 lead for the home team. Neither team was successful from beyond the arc this season and Gustavus collected one more rebound than Saint Mary's, but missed three more shots than the Cardinals and went to the charity stripe three less times.
In the third, the Gusties extended their lead to a seven point cushion when the clock hit zero, including a 12-4 run across the first seven minutes of the half, thanks to scoring by sophomore
Anna Goodman (Lakeville, Minn.) and junior classmates
Whitley Ronn (Lakeville, Minn.) and
Peyton Stevermer (Mankato, Minn.). From there on, the Cardinals were the only ones to find makes from the field, but Gustavus found five points from the free throw line to keep up and maintain their lead. The Gusties took care of the ball better in the third to help aid in their pursuit for a quarterfinal round bye in the MIAC playoffs, shooting 4-for-10 (40 percent) compared to the Cardinals' 4-for-15 (26.7 percent).
The fourth quarter was the highest scoring for both teams, with Saint Mary's holding a slight 24-22 advantage, but wasn't enough to retake the lead. After Peters made a jumper to start the quarter, the Cardinals scored eight straight to bring the score within one, but the Gusties once again fended off the charge, scoring five straight, a layup by sophomore
Olivia Grothaus (Hudson, Wis.) and a three by Goodman, assisted by Grothaus. Goodman continued to activate her takeover ability, scoring the next five as well to bring her total to 14, via a three and a layup. The run brought the lead back to double digits, but once again, Saint Mary's proved why they are also a playoff team, responding with a 10-5 run to bring the game within five with 50 seconds left. Down the stretch, Gustavus showed direct improvement with free throw shooting, making five more to keep the Cardinals at bay, a phase of play that was not as successful the first time the two teams played.
Saint Mary's made multiple attempts to climb back with runs, but the Gusties were able to keep their distance and match the Cardinals, not giving up the lead after the score was 30-28 in favor of the visitors. The team shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from the field across the game and 22-for-26 (84.6 percent) from the charity stripe, a season-high in makes and attempts. After the highest number of turnovers committed at 28 when the two teams played in December, the Gusties only gave the ball away 13 times and stole the ball away nine times to help provide the distance between the two teams.
Individually, Ronn, Goodman, Peters, and Stevermer all passed 10 points, while Ronn and sophomore
Bella DeHaan (Blaine, Minn.) brought down six rebounds to lead the team. Ronn continued a stellar week defensively, stealing the ball away three times and blocking three shots before fouling out. Goodman played 37 of 40 minutes for the Gusties and led in assists, dishing out four of the team's 11.
Now, the Gusties await the results of the quarterfinal matchups in the MIAC Playoff Championship and have earned the right to host on Thursday, February 26th. The game is scheduled tentatively for 5:00 p.m. on Gus Young Court.
