Spokane, WA – (Story courtesy of Steve Flegel, Whitworth SID) – Sarah Shogren dominated at both ends of the floor to lead Whitworth College to an 87-75 win over 11th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in a battle of 2003 conference champions and the final game of the Ramada Inn-Whit Classic on Tuesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
Shogren, named the tournament’s MVP finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, making 11 of 17 shots from the field. A 5-9 forward, she finished the tournament with 42 points and 32 rebounds, all against taller players in the post.
Whitworth, which made 61% (22/36) of its shots from the field, improved to 8-1 with the win. Gustavus suffered its first loss of the season and fell to 6-1.
The Pirates trailed only once in the game, when Angie Peterson drained a three-pointer to give the Gusties a 7-6 lead just over three minutes into the game. The Pirates took control and a 13-point lead (27-14) on a breakaway lay-up by Shogren with 9:04 to play in the half. The lead was still 40-30 when GAC scored the final six points of the period and held the Pirates scoreless over the final 3:20 to pull within 40-36.
But the Gusties could not keep the momentum coming out of the locker room. The Bucs quickly scored two baskets to up the lead to eight points. Gustavus did fight back to within 53-50 on a three-pointer by Sara Boldt with 14:11 to go, but the Pirates answered with a 19-5 run that opened up Whitworth’s largest lead of the night at 72-55 with 5:41 to go in the game. Dani Bielec scored eight points during the run.
The Gusties did not give in, outscoring Whitworth 15-5 to pull within 77-70 on a three-pointer by Laura Haugen with 2:28 to play. But Tiffany Speer answered with a jumper off of the backboard and Whitworth hit five of six free throws in the final two minutes, along with another three-pointer by Bielec, to ice the game.
Bielec and Speer scored 19 points apiece for the Pirates, who made 69% of their shots (16/23) in the second half. Bielec nearly had a triple double with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Peterson led all players with 29 points on 10/17 shooting from the field. She finished the tournament with 58 points after back-to-back 29 point nights. Bri Monahan added nine points.
Both teams return to conference play next. Gustavus, defending champions of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, will host Hamline on January 3rd. Whitworth, defending champions of the Northwest Conference, will host Lewis & Clark on January 9th.
2003 Ramada Inn – Whitworth Classic All-Tournament Team:
MVP – Sarah Shogren (Whitworth, Jr., F, Newman Lake, Wash.)
Angie Peterson (Gustavus Adolphus, Sr., W, Northfield, Minn.)
Tiffany Speer (Whitworth, Jr., F, Snohomish, Wash.)
Laura Vertatschitsch (Whitman, So., G, Issaquah, Wash.)
Julia Randall (UC Santa Cruz, Jr., F, Sunnyvale, Calif.)
Dani Bielec (Whitworth, Jr., G, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho)
WHITWORTH 87, GUST. ADOLPHUS 75
GUST. ADOLPHUS (6-1)
Peterson, Angie 10-17 5-6 29; Haugen, Laura 3-8 2-3 9; Monahan, Bri 3-6 3-4 9; Klohs, Jennifer 4-14 0-0 8; Skoog, Lacy 2-5 1-1 6; Boldt, Sara 2-5 1-2 6; Van Norman, Kelly 1-2 2-2 4; Sandvig, Kate 1-2 0-0 2; Kachelmyer, Kristin 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 26-61 16-20 75.
WHITWORTH (8-1)
Shogren, Sarah 11-17 6-8 28; Bielec, Dani 5-6 7-10 19; Speer, Tiffany 8-12 3-5 19; Liu, Wenchi 1-5 5-8 7; Coppin, Kristie 2-3 1-3 5; Karste, Becca 2-2 0-0 4; Bradley, Haley 1-3 0-2 3; Beauchamp, Meghan 1-2 0-0 2; DesMarais, Micki 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-51 22-36 87.
Gust. Adolphus……………. 36 39 – 75
Whitworth………………… 40 47 – 87
3-point goals-Gust. Adolphus 7-18 (Peterson, Angie 4-9; Haugen, Laura 1-2; Boldt, Sara 1-4; Skoog, Lacy 1-3), Whitworth 3-11 (Bielec, Dani 2-3; Bradley, Haley 1-2; Liu, Wenchi 0-4; Beauchamp, Meghan 0-1; Speer, Tiffany 0-1).
Fouled out–Gust. Adolphus-Haugen, Laura; Monahan, Bri, Whitworth-None.
Rebounds-Gust. Adolphus 28 (Monahan, Bri 6), Whitworth 36 (Shogren, Sarah 12). Assists-Gust. Adolphus 14 (Skoog, Lacy 4), Whitworth 19 (Bielec, Dani 9).
Total fouls-Gust. Adolphus 28, Whitworth 18. A-205