The Gustavus women’s basketball team recorded a 64-49 win over the College of St. Catherine in St. Peter, Minn. on Wednesday night. Senior post Bri Monahan (Hutchinson, Minn.) sparked the Gusties with a season high 29 points, while junior guard Jess Vadnais (Jr., Hudson, Wis.) contributed 20 points. St. Kate’s senior post Sarah Schneider (Shakopee, Minn.), who was 8-for-8 from the field, led the Wildcats with 20 points. Gustavus improves to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the MIAC, while St. Catherine falls to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the MIAC.
The two teams were very evenly matched through the first 15 minutes of the game and St. Kate’s evened the score at 22-22 on two free throws by Schneider with 5:21 left in the first half. One minute later, Vadnais hit a three-point basket giving the Gusties a 25-22 lead with 4:15 left in the half. Vadnais’ three sparked a 15-3 run for Gustavus in the final four minutes of play and the Gusties took a 12-point, 37-25 lead into the locker room.
Gustavus maintained its double-digit lead throughout most of the second half due in large part to the play of Monahan. The senior post was 5-of-8 from the field including 3-of-4 from three-point range. She scored 17 of her 29 points in the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats pulled to within eight points on a basket by Rachel Berglund that made the score 45-37 with 13:04 left in the game, however Monahan countered with a three-point basket just :10 seconds later and St. Kate’s would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the game. Gustavus held its largest lead of the game at 20 points (64-44) when Monahan made two free throws with 3:53 left on the clock.
Monahan (29) and Vadnais (20) combined to score 49 of the Gusties’ 64 points, It is the third time this season that the dynamic duo has combined to score over 40 points for Gustavus. Monahan also grabbed seven rebounds in the game pushing her career total to 505. She is the eighth player in the history of the women’s basketball program to compile 500 career rebounds.
St. Kate’s was led by senior post Sarah Schneider who scored 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field. She was also 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Joining Schneider in double figures for the Wildcats was Rachel Berglund (Dawson, Minn.) who tallied 13 points.
Gustavus posted its 22nd consecutive win over St. Kate’s dating back to the 1987-88 season. The Gusties have compiled an all-time mark of 33-3 against the Wildcats.
The Gusties will now travel to Winona on Saturday to face Saint Mary’s at 3:00 pm, while St. Catherine will return home to host Carleton.