Bri Radtke scored 19 points including two clutch free throws with 16 seconds left to assure the Gusties an important 74-66 win at Macalester on Wednesday night. The Scots had defeated Gustavus 73-61 in St. Peter on January 4. The Gusties improved to 17-3 overall and 15-2 in the MIAC and maintained their one-game lead over St. Ben’s for first place in the league standings.
The first half was tightly contested with neither team holding a lead bigger than four points and the score was tied eight different times. The Gusties held a slim 35-32 lead at halftime.
The Scots pulled to within one point at 35-34 on a layup by Eartha Bell on the first possession of the second half, but the Gusties used a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to take a nine-point, 45-36 lead at the 15:42 mark. Macalester battled back and cut the lead to two at 47-45 on a jumper by Eartha Bell with 12:03 left in the game.
Gustavus slowly built its lead over the next nine minutes and a three-point play by Molly Geske at the 3:48 mark extended the Gustie lead to a game-high 10 points at 70-60. Macalester would get no closer than five points the rest of the game.
Balanced scoring was a key for Gustavus as four players reached double-digits in scoring. Radtke led the way with 19 followed by Molly Geske with 15, Molly Mathiowetz with 11, and Julia Schultz with 10. Macalester was led by Ann Baltzer with 21 points.
The Gusties will travel to St. Paul to play Hamline on Saturday at 1:00 pm.