St. Joseph, Minn. – In the Laurie Kelly era of Gustavus women’s basketball, the matchup between the Golden Gusties and Blazers has been consistently tightly-contested and oftentimes goes down to the wire. Over the previous two seasons, neither team has successfully defended its home court with each game being decided by three points or less. Saturday afternoon’s game at Claire Lynch Hall was no different.
Thanks to a strong defensive effort and clutch shooting in the final minute of the game, Gustavus was able to come away with a 55-52 victory and earn its second straight win. The Gusties improve to 12-3 overall and 6-2 in the MIAC, while Saint Ben’s drops to 7-8 overall and 4-4 in the MIAC.
“It was the type of game we thought it was going to be,” said Laurie Kelly. “Since I’ve been the coach at Gustavus, every game with Saint Ben’s has gone down to the wire and today we were fortunate to come away with a win. This team continues to show that it can make plays late in the game. It’s not just one or two players – it’s a different player stepping up game after game.”
The key turning point came with :51 seconds left when Kelsey Carpenter (So., St. Peter, Minn.) knocked down three-pointer to put the Gusties on top 53-52. Prior to Carpenter’s go-ahead triple, the Gusties had trailed for an over four-minute time-span, which included a 52-50 disadvantage with 2:19 remaining in the game.
Saint Ben’s Annie Dittberner missed a jumper on the ensuing possession, and Mikayla Miller (Fy., Goodhue, Minn.) hit a pair of free throws with :21 seconds left to give Gustavus a 55-52 lead. Dittberner had a look at a potential game-tying three on the Blazers’ final offensive possession, but her shot was blocked by Carpenter and picked up by Miller to secure the win.
“It was a neck-and-neck game throughout, but when it came down to the end we found a way,” said Kelly about her team’s finish. “That’s the thing about this team; when the clock ticks down and the game gets tighter, we rise to the occasion. Kelsey Carpenter knocks down a three-pointer off a half court set to give us the advantage with :51 seconds left and we take care of business from that point on.”
Gustavus shot 45.5-percent from the field in the second half compared to its 33.3-percent shooting performance in the first half. Despite trailing by as many as 11 points with 6:35 remaining in the opening half, Saint Ben’s clawed its way back in the remaining minutes to tie the game at 26-26 at the break. The second half saw the two squads trade leads five times before Carpenter’s three with less than one minute to play put the Gusties on top for good.
The Gusties finished the game 20-for-52 (38.5%) from the floor, 3-for-5 (60%) from three, and 12-for-16 (75%) at the line. Saint Benedict went 18-for-55 (32.7%) from the field, 6-for-16 (37.5%) from three, and 10-for-18 (55.6%) at the line.
Leading Gustavus’s offense was Maddie Ehrich (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Miranda Rice (Fy., Forest Lake, Minn.) who both finished in double-figures. Ehrich led with way with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Rice added 10 after going 3-of-6. Miller led the team with a season-high 14 rebounds and also added nine points (2-11 FG, 2-2 3PT, 3-4 FT).
Kelly said that it was once again not a pretty win but that it was the type of win you’d expect from either side in this matchup. “Our defense stepped up and picked up where our offense was lacking. We held Saint Ben’s to under 35-percent shooting and did a great job limiting some of their key scorers – both of which were areas of focus heading into today’s game. Although it doesn’t show up offensively in the statistics, our bench did a great job on the defensive end and didn’t give up many good looks throughout the day.”
Saint Ben’s was led by Mattie Lueck who scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Annie Dittberner was next in line with 10 points (4-13 FG, 2-7 3PT).
The Gustavus women’s basketball team will be back on the hardwood Wednesday, Jan. 21 when it plays host to Bethel University at 7:00 p.m. on Gus Young Court.