Julia Schultz of Gustavus battles Annagret Nautsch of Bethel for position on the block.

Emily Nelson dribbles in for an uncontested layup after recording one of her three steals in the game.

Megan Gaard goes up for one of her two important three-point baskets in the game.

Molly Mathiowetz splits the Bethel defense and drives in for a layup.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team saw its 2008-09 season come to an end with a 75-59 loss to Bethel in a MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff game on Tuesday night at Gus Young Court. Bethel used a 15-5 run over the final four minutes to break open a tight game and claim its first MIAC Playoff win in the program’s history. The Gusties, who were led by senior Emily Nelson with 17 points, end their season with a record of 16-10.

The game was played with playoff intensity from the very start and the biggest lead by either team in the first half was four points. The score was tied once and the lead changed hands five times. Both teams shot very well also, as Gustavus made 52.2 percent of its shots (12-23), while Bethel made 58.3 percent of its shots (14-24). The Gusties were perfect from the free throw line (5-5), while the Royals made 7-of-10. Bethel took a 37-33 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

Bethel quickly pushed its lead to seven points at 40-33 when Kristen Wolters hit a three-point basket in the first minute of the second half. The Royals used two Kiersten Hansen free throws to push their lead to eight at 50-42 with 14:12 left to play, however the Gusties countered with an 8-0 run to tie the score at 50-50 at the 12:21 mark. The Royals called a timeout and then went on an 9-0 run of their own and led 59-50 with 5:45 left to play. Gustavus would battle back and pull within six points at 54-60 with 4:00 minutes on the clock, but that is as close as the Coach Mickey Haller’s squad would get as Bethel outscored the Gusties 15-5 the rest of the way to claim the 75-59 victory.

The win was a big one for the Royals as they advanced to the MIAC Playoff Semifinals for the first time in the program’s history and snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Gusties dating back to February of 2001. Bethel will now face #1 seed Saint Ben’s in St. Joseph on Thursday at 7:30 pm.

Autumn Beasley of Bethel led all scorers with 21 points. Four other Bethel players reached double figures including Taylor Sheley with 14, Shana Grejtak with 11, and Annegret Nautsch and Kiersten Hansen with 10 each.

Gustavus was led by Emily Nelson with 17 points, followed by Bri Radtke with 10. Nelson completed her successful Gustavus career with 698 points in 92 games (7.6 ppg), 100 three-point baskets (5th in program history), and 151 steals (11th in program history).

The Gusties are now 4-3 in MIAC Playoff Quarterfinal games and 6-9 in MIAC Playoff games overall. This is only the third time in the past nine years that the Gusties have not advanced to the MIAC Playoff Semifinal round.

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Emily Nelson puts defensive pressure on a St. Ben’s player.

Molly Mathiowetz goes up for two points in the second half.

Julia Schultz (left) and Bri Radtke (right) cheer their teammates from the sideline.

Ava Perry looks for a teammate after grabbing an offensive rebound.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team battled St. Ben’s straight up for 35 minutes, unfortunately the Gusties were unable to knock down any key shots in the final five minutes and the Blazers pulled away for a 60-50 victory. Gustavus trailed 44-43 with 6:14 left in the game, however St. Ben’s outscored the Gusties 16-7 the rest of the way to claim the 10-point victory. Gustavus will open MIAC Tournament play on Tuesday at 7:30 pm against an opponent yet to be determined.

The first half was very competitive with nine lead changes and four ties. The Gusties led by three at two different times, while the Blazers biggest was five at 13-8 with nine minutes remaining in the half. Joelle Waytashek hit a three-point basket with :22 left to tie the score at 22-22, but then Bri Radtke hit a jumper with :02 left to give the Gusties a 24-22 lead at the intermission. Neither team shot particularly well in the first half as St. Ben’s made 9-of-26 (34.6 percent), while Gustavus made 8-of-24 (33.3 percent).

The game remained very tight through the first ten minutes of the second half and Gustavus led 37-33 at the 10:40 mark on a basket by Molly Geske. The Gusties took their biggest lead of the game at five points (42-37) after two free throws by Molly Geske with 7:35 to play. St. Ben’s countered with a 15-1 run over the next three minutes to take a nine-point lead at 52-43 with four minutes left to play. Gustavus would battle back and cut the lead to six points at 56-50 with two minutes to play, but that is as close as the Gusties would get as the Blazers would finish up with the ten-point 60-50 victory.

St. Ben’s outscored Gustavus 38-26 in the second half. The Blazers shot 47.6 percent from the field (10-21) and 66.7 percent from behind the arc (6-9) compared to 28.6 percent for the Gusties (10-35) and 20.0 percent from behind the arc (1-5). St. Ben’s struggled a bit from the line making 14-of-21 in the game, compared to 13-of-16 by Gustavus.

Amy Stifter of St. Ben’s led all scorers with 15 points. Joelle Waytashek contributed 13 points for the Blazers. Gustavus was led by Bri Radtke and Julia Schultz with 12 points each.

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Julia Schultz leads the break for Gustavus.

Katy Layman looks to score against Bethel’s Annagret Nautsch.

Emily Nelson scores on a breakaway layup.

Megan Gaard handles the ball on the perimeter.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team broke open a tight game with an 11-2 run over a seven-minute stretch late in the second half to post a 56-44 win over Bethel on Wednesday night at Gus Young Court in St. Peter. Bri Radtke turned in a strong all-around performance for the Gusties as she scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists. Gustavus improves to 16-8 overall and 14-7 in the MIAC.

Bethel got off to a quick start and led 12-4 six minutes into the first half. The Gusties, however countered with a 15-6 run over the eight minutes and led 19-18 with 6:33 left in the half. The score remained close for the final six minutes and Bri Radtke’s three-point basket with :16 seconds before the intermission gave the Gusties a 28-26 lead at halftime.

It was Gustavus that got off to a fast start in the second half scoring five straight points to increase its lead to seven at 33-26 at the 17:59 mark. Bethel quickly countered with a 5-0 run in the next minute of play to cut the lead to two at 33-31 with 17:05 on the clock. That is as close as the Royals would get to the Gusties in the second half. Gustavus built its lead back up to eight at 43-35 and then Bethel responded with a 4-0 run to get within four points at 43-39 with 9:28 left to play. The Gusties, however would outscore the Royals 13-5 over the final nine minutes and claim the 56-44 victory.

Both teams played very aggressive defense, which led to lower than average shooting and a lot of turnovers. Gustavus shot 36.5 percent from the field (19-52), while Bethel shot 34.6 percent from the field (18-52). The Gusties were perfect from the free throw line (12-12), while the Royals made 6-of-10. Bethel registered 10 steals and committed 22 turnovers, while Gustavus recorded 12 steals and committed 23 turnovers. The Gusties out-rebounded the Royals 39-30.

Three players scored in double figures for Gustavus including Katy Layman with 14, Bri Radtke with 12 and Molly Geske with 10. Kristen Wolters led Bethel with 10 points.

The Gustavus victory combined with Hamline’s loss to St. Kate’s (83-66) allowed the Gusties to clinch the #4 seed in the MIAC Playoffs, which means the Gusties will host either Bethel or Hamline next Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 pm on Gus Young Court. Gustavus will be making its ninth consecutive appearance in the MIAC Post-Season Tournament. The Gusties and St. Ben’s are the only two programs in the MIAC to have appeared in the conference tournament every year since it was initiated in the 2000-01 season.

Gustavus will close out its regular season schedule at home on Saturday against Saint Ben’s at 3:00 pm.

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Coach Mickey Haller encourages her team in the huddle late in the game.

Bri Radtke grimaces as she charges to the hoop for two.

Ava Perry dribbles past a Tommy defender.

Emily Nelson looks to shoot after a rebound,.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team held the upper hand against St. Thomas for the better part of the first 35 minutes of play, but the Tommies went on a 15-4 run over the final four-and-a-half minutes of the game and slipped past the Gusties 61-58 in St. Peter. Jessica Katch’s jumper with :34 seconds left gave St. Thomas the lead for the first time in the second half. Katie Layman led Gustavus in scoring with 14 points. Gustavus falls to 15-8 overall and 13-7 in the MIAC, while St. Thomas improves to 17-6 overall and 15-5 in the MIAC.

In a game that had important playoff implications, the Gustavus and St. Thomas women’s basketball teams battled for forty minutes before the Tommies won the game in the final :40 seconds and solidified third place in the conference standings. St. Thomas now has a two-game edge over the Gusties with two games to play. Had the Gusties won, the two squads would have been tied for third place and Gustavus would have held the tiebreaker having swept the season series.

The first half was very evenly played with ten lead changes and three ties. The Tommies shot much better from the field making 15-of-32 shots (46.9 percent), while the Gusties struggled making 10-of-33 (30.3 percent). Gustavus made up the difference at the free throw line where it was 12-of-12 compared to only 2-of-4 for St. Thomas. Bri Radtke made two free throws with :06 seconds left to give Gustavus a 33-32 lead at the intermission.

The Gusties got the hot-hand coming out of the locker room and outscored the Tommies 9-2 in the first three minutes of play to extend their lead to eight at 42-34 at the 17:16 mark. Gustavus maintained its eight-point lead through the better part of the next nine minutes of play and increased its lead to 10 points on a couple of different occassions. A three-point basket by Molly Geske gave a Gustavus a 10-point, 54-44 lead with 11:15 remaining in regulation play. Another three-point basket by Geske with 4:30 remaining gave Gustavus an eight-point lead at 61-53. St. Thomas, however would go on a 11-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 64-63 lead with 1:44 left to play. Katie Layman made two free throws with 1:02 remaining to put Gustavus back in the lead 65-64. The Tommies countered with a 12-foot jumper by Jessica Katch with :34 seconds remaining to slide back into the lead at 66-65. The Gusties called timeout to set up a play to Julia Schultz at the other end, but Schultz’s shot was blocked and the Tommies added a lay-up by Lizzi Traxler with :09 left to hold on for the 68-65 victory.

Jessica Katch of St. Thomas led all scorers with 20 points. Other Tommies in double-figures included Lizzi Traxler with 11 and Dee Prioleau with 10. Gustavus had five players reach double figures in scoring including Katie Layman with 14, Emily Nelson with 13, Bri Radtke with 12, and Julia Schultz and Molly Geske with 11 each.

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The Official WBCA Pink Zone logo

Head Coach Mickey Haller at last year’s Pink Zone event against Carleton.

Senior guard Emily Nelson with pink shoelaces and head band last year against Carleton.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team will host a Pink Zone event in memory of Kay Yow, former head basketball coach at North Carolina State University, this Saturday, Feb. 14 against St. Thomas at 1:00 pm. Coach Mickey Haller and her squad will be asking fans to donate to the Kay Yow Fund^TM to fight breast cancer sponsored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

The Gustavus coaching staff will wear pink during the game and the players will wear pink accessories including hair ribbons, shoe laces, wrist bands and head bands. The team is also inviting its fans to wear pink for the game and the officials will be using pink whistles to support the fight against breast cancer.

Information will also be available about opportunities to support breast cancer research as well as literature about the disease and encouraging women to get checkups for early detection.

The late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women’s basketball coach, was a past president and founding member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and a galvanizing voice for the Association.Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease. In her 38 years as a head coach at the college-level, Yow was one of only six Division I head women’s basketball mentors to achieve 700 career victories. Yow was also the head coach of the 1988 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Seoul.

The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund^TM was announced on December 3, 2007, during the Jimmy V Classic. The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund^TM, in partnership with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, will raise money in the fight against women’s cancers. It was appropriate to announce this Fund during the Jimmy V Classic because of the connection between the late Jim Valvano, former North Carolina State head men’s basketball coach, and the late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State head women’s basketball coach. The Fund was the first women’s initiative that the WBCA has chosen in its 28-year history, and is also the newest women’s initiative for The V Foundation.

WBCA Release Announcing Kay Yow’s Passing

WBCA Pink Zone Website

The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund

Bri Radtke drives to the basket. (Brian Fowler, SportPix)

Molly Geske makes a pass. (Brian Fowler, SportPix)

Colleen Ruane brings the ball up the floor. (Brian Fowler, SportPix)

Julia Schultz looks to dribble past a Piper defender. (Brian Fowler, SportPix)

The Gustavus women’s basketball team battled Hamline for 40 minutes, but the Gusties could not get enough shots to drop and the result was a disappointing 68-62 loss to the Pipers. It was the first loss of the season for Gustavus on its home court. Brianna Radtke and Molly Mathiowetz scored 19 points each to lead the Gusties, who fell to 14-7 overall and 12-6 in the MIAC.

Neither team could separate itself from the other in the first half and the Pipers six-point lead at 10-4 at the 14:03 mark was the biggest lead of the half for either team. In the final 14 minutes of the half, there were seven ties and seven lead changes. Jessica Heinen’s three-point basket with :45 left on the clock gave the Pipers a three-point 30-27 lead at the intermission.

Hamline used a 6-1 run to take a five-point lead at 36-31 with 17:45 to play. Gustavus countered with an 8-3 run to tie the score at 44-44 with 13:49 left on the clock. The Pipers scored on their next possession and would not trail the rest of the game. The Gusties got to within three points on a layup by Bri Radtke with 1:27 left to play, but Hamline was able to hit several key free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Three Gustavus players reached double figures in scoring including Bri Radtke and Molly Mathiowetz with 19 each, and Molly Geske with 10. Hamline was led by Rochelle Sather with 16 points.

The Gusties will travel to Northfield on Wednesday to face St. Olaf.

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Colleen Ruane works hard on the defensive end.

Bri Radtke drives to the basket.

Ava Perry goes up to shoot.

Emily Nelson applies pressure defense on the perimeter.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team picked up its fourth consecutive win by outlasting Macalester 60-48 in a very physical battle at Gus Young Court on Wednesday night. The Gusties had five players reach double figures in scoring including Molly Geske with 16, Emily Nelson and Kirsten Prunty with 11 each , and Molly Mathiowetz, and Bri Radtke with 10 each. Ann Baltzer led Macalester with 13 points.

The first half was a see-saw affair with four ties and five lead changes. The Gusties used an 11-3 run over the final four minutes of the half to take a 31-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Gustavus shot 50.0 percent from the field (13-26) in the first 20 minutes, while the Scots shot a cool 33.3 percent (11-33).

In the second half, Bri Radtke hit a three-point basket on the Gusties first possession extending the lead to 11 points at 34-23. Gustavus maintain its double-digit lead through most of the second half, however a 6-0 Macalester run starting at the 6:55 mark, cut the Gustie lead to four points at 50-46 with 3:21 left to play. Gustavus quickly countered with a 6-0 run of its own to push the lead back to 10 points at 56-46 with 2:26 on the clock and the Gusties held on for the 12-point, 60-48 victory. Gustavus extended its home-win streak against Macalester to 14 games dating back to the 1994-95 season.

Gustavus improved to 13-6 overall and 11-5 in the MIAC, while Macalester, which dropped its eighth straight game, fell to 8-11 overall and 6-10 in the MIAC. The Gusties remain home to face Hamline on Saturday, while the Scots return home to host Augsburg.

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Point guard Colleen Ruane tries to penetrate the Augsburg defense.

Julia Schultz and Molly Geske trap Augsburg’s Michelle Richter.

Coach Mickey Haller talks to her team during a 30-second timeout.

Guard Ava Perry starts the fastbreak with a pass up the court.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team, which was playing its first home game in nearly a month, responded with a strong performance and ran past Augsburg 72-44. The Gusties, who led by nine at half (35-26), pulled away from the second half as they outscored the Auggies 37-18. Senior guard Emily Nelson led all scorers with 17 points.

The two teams battled very evenly for the first ten minutes of the game and the Auggies held a 16-15 lead at the 9:47 mark. The Gusties, however used a quick 9-0 spurt to take an eight -point 24-16 lead with 7:19 left in the half. Gustavus would build its lead to as many as 14 at 35-21, but Augsburg went on a 5-0 run in final two minutes of the half and went into the locker trailing the Gusties by nine at 35-26.

In the second half, Augsburg battled to stay close and trailed by 11 at 44-33 with 14:21 left in the game. Gustavus broke the game open with an 8-1 run that increased the lead to 19 points at 53-34 at the 11:10 mark. The Gusties full court pressure gave the Auggies lots of trouble and the Gustavus lead increased to 32 points at 72-40 with two minutes remaining in the contest. Augsburg closed out the game with a 4-0 run to make the final score 72-44. The Gusties registered 16 steals in the game and harrassed the Auggies into 29 turnovers.

Joining Emily Nelson in double figures for Gustavus was Molly Mathiowetz with 13 and Molly Geske with 10. Brianna Radtke played a very strong game at the point guard position and registered 10 assists.

Augsburg was led by Christa Suedbeck who tallied 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Gustavus, which improved to 13-6 overall and 11-5 in the MIAC, will host Macalester on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.

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St. Kate’s scored the first point of the game on a free throw by Molly Peterson, but the Gusties took a 2-1 lead on a lay-up by Katie Layman and would not trail the rest of the game. Gustavus slowly built its lead to double-digits and led by 12 points at 18-6 with 11:27 left in the half. The Wildcats battled back and cut the lead to five points at 29-24 at the 3:57 mark. Gustavus built its lead back to nine points at 41-30 with :58 seconds left and then Molly Geske and Kirsten Prunty hit back-to-back three point baskets in the final minute of play giving the Gusties a 15-point lead at 46-31 at halftime.

Gustavus went on a 10-2 run to start the second half pushing its lead to 23 points at 56-33 with 17:03 left in the game. The Gusties started scoring in bunches and pushed its lead to 38 points at 75-37 at the 10:17 mark. St. Kate’s staged a big rally in the final 10 minutes of play outscoring the Gusties 35-16, but it was too little, too late as the the Wildcats were only able to cut the lead in half and Gustavus still managed to claim a convincing 19-point victory.

Both teams shot very well in the game as Gustavus made 49.2 percent of its shots from the field (32-65), while St. Kate’s made 47.3 percent of its shots (26-55). The Gusties were led in scoring by Molly Geske with 26 points, followed by Bri Radtke with 14. The Wildcats were led by Laura Kalbfell with 23 points.

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