Saint Benedict 70, Gustavus 61 (Overtime) | Photo Gallery
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s basketball team suffered a 70-61-overtime loss to the College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday night at Gus Young Court. The lead went back and forth the entire game, but at the half Gustavus led 29-27. The second half involved much of the same, leading to a 55-55 score at the end of regulation. Saint Benedict pulled through in overtime with a 15-6 run to earn a nine-point victory over the Gusties.
“Our team is getting into a situation where we have to understand the value of the basketball and how important it is to win games at home. We played well the last few games and we played well defensively, we just didn’t do enough. We gave up 15 points in five minutes of overtime, but we hadn’t given up 15 points in all four quarters,” said Coach Laurie Kelly. “We did a great job in regulation, but Saint Benedict hit some big shots, and when the game is close, possessions really matter. We had some opportunities to get some three point plays but couldn’t seal the and-1.”
Leading Gustavus in points was sophomore Mikayla Miller (Goodhue, Minn.) with 14. Also playing a strong game was post Miranda Rice (So., Forest Lake, Minn.), who notched six points, and led the team with 11 rebounds. First-year Brooke Lemke (Delano, Minn.) also played an important role, tallying seven points along with four assists. Teammate Justine Lee (Fy., Dawson, Minn.) also stepped to help the team, as Coach Kelly noted that,“Lee made a great play to get us that two-point lead in the final seconds.”
Gustavus and Saint Benedict started the game off battling back and forth for the lead. The score was tied 3-3 at the 8:06 mark, but the Gusties were able to take charge from that point on, and took a two-point, 17-15 advantage into the first intermission.
The second quarter was much the same, and the Gusties managed to hold their two-point lead over the Blazers, which eventually widened to a game-high, eight-point 27-19 lead at the 3:47 mark. However, the Blazers fought back, going on an 8-2 run to bring the Gustie lead back down to two going into the half 29-27. Although Saint Benedict led the Gusties in shooting with a 47 percent average versus Gustavus’ 39 percent in the first half, but both teams averaged 50 percent for three-point field goals.
The Blazers stepped it up during the third quarter, tying the game 29-29 at the 7:24 mark. From that point forward Saint Benedict was able to take a slight lead over the Gusties. The Blazers’ Chelsey Guetter, Grace Wolhowe, and Morgan Marritt were able to help keep the Blazer lead, together scoring six points in the final 2:31 of the quarter, giving Saint Benedict a 41-39 lead heading into the final quarter.
There, both teams fought until the end, with the lead bouncing back and forth and several ties highlighting the nail-biting finish. The first tie came at the 9:52 mark, following a layup by Hannah Howard putting the score at 41-41. Only 1:30 later, the score was tied again 43-43 following a free-throw from the Blazers’ Macy Kelly. In the last 52 seconds of regulation, the score was tied again, this time at 53-53, but two free-throws from Justine Lee with 3.5 seconds remaining put the Gusties ahead 55-53. A Saint Benedict timeout following the second free-throw allowed the Blazers to advance the ball to half court where they were able to inbound to Alison Newton. Both Newton and her defender, Miller, lost their footing a bit, but Newton was able to recover just in time to put up a buzzer-beating layup to tie the game at 55-55 and send the game to overtime.
“We battled to get the lead, and with the three seconds to go, Saint Benedict made a great play and they worked hard to go into overtime and then it becomes a five minute basketball game. Immediately we started to turn the ball over and weren’t as confident off the dribble, which they capitalized on the other end offensively. When Saint Benedict got those first few points and we started turning the ball over, our body language changed and then we were playing from behind, which we hadn’t done the whole game. You have to give them credit…when it came time they made some big shots they needed to get the game to overtime. For Alison Newton, it was a huge play to even get the ball inside to score.”
In the extra period, the Blazers jumped out with the first eight points and eventually went on a 15-6 run to earn the 70-61 win.
The Gusties next contest is this Saturday, January 23 against Augsburg College, with tipoff set for 3 p.m. at Gus Young Court.