Molly Mathiowetz scored a game-high 22 points in Thursday night's 50-48 loss to St. Thomas.
The Gustavus women’s basketball team suffered a hard-fought 50-48 loss to St. Thomas in the MIAC semifinal game on Thursday night in St. Paul. Gustavus’ late nine-point comeback fell just short, as St. Thomas’ Taylor Young knocked down a game-winning 10-foot jumper with just five seconds on the clock to break the 48-48 tie.
St. Thomas improves to 20-6 on the year, moving on to play Concordia Saturday afternoon in the MIAC Playoff Championship. Gustavus finishes its season with a 17-10 record.
The game was a defense battle from the start, as the two squads went back-and-forth for the opening fifteen minutes. A three-pointer by Carolyn Dienhart knotted the game at 18-18 and sparked a 15-2 Tommie run to close the half. Gustavus went just 1-for-12 from the floor in the last eight minutes of the frame.
Kelsey Florian led Gustavus with eight points in the first have, as the Gusties shot 32.3-percent from the field. St. Thomas shot 42.9-percent, as Jazmin Townsend led the team with eight points.
St. Thomas took its largest lead of the game at 33-22 on a three pointer by Dienhart :44 seconds into the second half. Gustavus responded with a 7-0 run that cut the lead to 33-29 with just under fifteen minutes to play. Mathiowetz scored six points within the run, finishing the half with 16 points while going 4-for-5 from the field and 8-for-8 at the line.
Down nine points (46-37) with 5:35 on the clock, Gustavus used an 11-2 run to tie the game at 48-48. Mathiowetz was 6-for-6 at the charity stripe inside the run, as Ava Perry capped it off with a game-tying three pointer with 1:41 left to play. Following Young’s game winner, Molly Geske took the ball coast-to-coast, pulling up inside the arc for a jumper, but coming up just short on the game-tying attempt.
The Tommies gained a significant edge on the Gusties from three point range as they went 7-for-13 in the game, while Gustavus was just 1-for-9. St. Thomas finished the contest 18-for-47 (39.1%) from the field, while Gustavus was 17-for-52 (32.7%).
The Tommies were led by a balanced scoring attack from Taylor Young, Jazmin Townsend, and Sarah Smith. All three players scored a team-high 10 points, as Smith recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Molly Mathiowetz led the Gusties with a game-high 22 points and eight boards. She went 7-for-13 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line in her last game in a Gustavus uniform. The Gustavus record books will be graced with her name for years to come, as Mathiowetz has played in a total of 103 games, averaging 22.5 minutes per game, and shooting .499 (402-805) from the field over her career. The Sleepy Eye, Minn. native ranks ninth all-time in career scoring (1077 pts), third in free throws (271), eighth in rebounds (554), and fourth in steals (198).
Also scoring in double-digits for the Gusties was Kelsey Florian with 10 points. Gustavus’ leading scorer Molly Geske was shut down throughout the night, recording just two points and going 1-for-10 from the field.
Gustavus falls to 7-11 in MIAC post-season play with the loss. This was the 11th consecutive year that the Gustavus women’s basketball team has made it to the MIAC Playoffs.
Congratulations to Molly Mathiowetz for her outstanding senior leadership of the team. She was always willing to pass off to other players for a shot. Hopefully the younger players will always remember Molly’s excellent good example, top performance, teamwork and how to make basketball a true life experience.
Blessings and best wishes,
(Molly, remember that one time we talked?)