BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Three Gustavus women's basketball student-athletes have earned MIAC All-Conference recognition, the conference announced Wednesday. Sophomore
Anna Goodman (Lakeville, Minn.) and junior
Ella Peters (River Falls, Wis.) both earned All-Conference honors while junior
Peyton Stevermer (Mankato, Minn.) was named to the MIAC All-Playoff Team.
Goodman received the first honor of her career after leading the conference in assists per game and ranking fifth in steals. Goodman has been one of the centerpieces of the team this season playing point, including a 40-minute game in the MIAC Playoff Semifinal over No. 23 Bethel.
Goodman's best game of the season offensively came on Valentine's day, scoring 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor, including a 6-for-8 mark from beyond the arc. In the contest against the Wildcats, Goodman also brought down six rebounds and dished out four assists.
The Lakeville native has eclipsed double digits in all three major categories, points, rebounds, and assists and had the third most assists in a single game this season with 10 against St. Olaf. Goodman ranks in the top-20 nationally in three categories, assist/turnover ratio (19th, 1.98), assists (17th, 127), and assists per game (16th, 4.9), while also ranking 71st in the country in steals with 70. The 10-assist game brought her into the record books, tied for the ninth most in program history in a single game and six three-pointers in a game is tied for the third-most in program history.
Peters also earned her first honor, leading the offensive the entire season and leading the team in multiple categories. The River Falls native leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, including a near school record with 33 points against fellow MIAC Playoff team St. Scholastica.
After scoring six, eight, and nine points in the first three games of the season, Peters only dipped below the double digit mark twice since, including a four-game spell with over 20 points. The junior guard has scored 12 or more points in her last eight games and has also used her 6-foot frame to be the lead glass-cleaner for the Gusties, gathering 206 to average 7.9 per game. Peters has garnered six double-doubles this year, half of which came in key games against MIAC Playoff teams and has earned two MIAC Athlete of the Week awards.
Stevermer earned the honor after a tremendous game against No. 23 Bethel in the only MIAC Playoff game the Gusties played. Stevermer scored 20 points for the first time in her career after only getting up to 14 before.
Coming off the bench, Stevermer hit a three in the first quarter to give the Gusties the lead and scored four more in the second quarter, a layup and two free throws. The Mankato junior scored six points in the third frame including a layup on the first action after entering the game. Two possessions later, Stevermer stole the ball away and went down and scored before adding another layup three minutes later. In the fourth, Stevermer hit a jumper to bring the lead down to five and chipped away at the lead again later, hitting a three to bring the game within one with five minutes left. She added two more later in the game, ending with a line of 20 points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal on 8-for-11 shooting.
The three players earning first-time honors shows the ushering in of a new generation for Gustavus women's basketball after losing the six student-athletes with the most minutes played last season to graduation. The Gusties earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, ranking 36th in NPI, and will take on No. 17 University of Chicago in the first round at 4:45 p.m. on Friday in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
