Winona, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s basketball team was not able to keep a surging Saint Mary’s team at bay in the final stages of the game on Saturday afternoon at the SMU Gym. The Cardinals earned a 67-58 victory after erasing an eight point second half deficit and oustcoring the Gusties 23-14 in the final seven minutes of the game.
Gustavus drops to 6-7 overall and 3-7 in the MIAC with the loss, while Saint Mary’s extends its winning-streak to nine games and is now 12-1 overall and 9-1 in the MIAC.
The Gusties used a fast start to jump out to a 17-7 lead by the 12:05 mark of the first half. Trailing 19-9 with 11:34 left in the half, Saint Mary’s used an 11-2 run to close the gap and bring the score to within one point (21-20) by 6:36.
Gustavus scored eight of the next 10 points to go up 28-22 (2:03), yet the Cardinals scored five unanswered to cut the lead to 28-27 at the break.
The Gusties shot 46.2-percent compared to the Cardinals 37-percent from the field in the opening half. Karina Schroeder (So., Lake Crystal, Minn.) went to work on the blocks in the opening 20 minutes, going 5-for-5 from the floor and 1-for-2 from the free throw line to lead all scorers with 11 points. Schroeder went on to sink 5-of-6 free throws in the second half to give her a team-high 16 points.
After a quick lead change on the first possession of the second half, the Gusties used a 10-0 run to grab a 40-32 advantage with 14:32 left in the game. The Cardinals chipped away at the lead over the next seven minutes and by the 6:53 mark had tied the game at 44-44 on an Octavia Brown free throw. A Courtney Euerle layup on Saint Mary’s next possession proved to by the final lead change of the game.
Gustavus cut the lead to three (50-47) on a jumper by Anna Lundquist (So., Rochester, Minn.) with 3:47 left, but the Cardinals put to rest any comeback hopes with an 11-2 run that gave them a 61-49 advantage with 1:05 to play.
Both Gustavus and Saint Mary’s shot 40-percent from the field in the second half. Courtney Euerle led the way with 16 points in the half after going 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 at the line.
Gustavus finished the game 22-for-51 (43.1%) from the field, 2-for-13 (15.4%) from three-point range, and 12-for-14 (85.7%) at the line. Turnovers plagued the Gusties throughout the afternoon, as Saint Mary’s was able to score 22 points off Gustavus’s 24 giveaways.
Along with Schroeder, Britta Rinke (Sr., Waconia, Minn.) and Julia Dysthe (Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) both finished in double-figures. Rinke scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Dysthe added 13 after going 5-for-14.
Saint Mary’s went 20-for-52 (38.5%) from the field, 3-for-19 (15.8%) from three, and 24-for-30 (80%) at the line. Euerle led all scorers in the game with 20 points after going 7-for-14 from the field and 6-for-6 at the line.
The Gustavus women’s basketball team will look to snap its two-game slide on Monday, Jan. 20 when it plays host to St. Catherine University at 7:30 p.m. on Gus Young Court.