The Gustavus women’s basketball team lost its final game of the regular season to St. Ben’s 70-61 on Saturday afternoon. The Gusties finished the season at 12-8 in the conference and 14-9 overall, claiming the fifth seed heading into the MIAC tournament. Senior post Kristin Kachelmyer led the way for the Gusties with 18 points and 13 rebounds, her eighth double-double of the season. Sophomore post Bri Monahan also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Senior post Kim Johnson scored a game-high 19 points, including 12 in the first half, to lead the Blazers to the win.
The Blazers jumped out to a 13-5 lead to start the game and let the Gusties get within two points before taking a 37-34 lead into halftime. Gustavus fell behind by as many as 19 points in the second half but closed the gap to only four points with just under four minutes left in the game. The Gusties would not get any closer, however, as the Blazers closed out the game 70-61. Gustavus outrebounded St. Ben’s 42-38, but were held to only 35% shooting in the game.
As the fifth seed in the conference tournament, Gustavus will travel to Winona to take on fourth-seeded Saint Mary’s in the first round of the MIAC playoffs. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The winner of that game will face either #1 Carleton or #2 Concordia in the next round.