Mikayla Miller scored 11 of her 22 points in the final nine minutes of regulation to help secure overtime and eventually, a Gustie win on Saturday.
Gustavus 75, Concordia 72 (OT)
MOORHEAD, Minn. – After dropping a narrow loss to No. 11 St. Thomas this past Wednesday, the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s basketball team was seeking a bounceback effort when it hit the floor with Concordia College on Saturday at Memorial Auditorium. It got just that, taking a 75-72 overtime thriller over the Cobbers to move into a third place tie with Concordia in the MIAC standings. Both teams are now 10-4 in the league and two games behind St. Thomas and Saint Mary’s which are both 12-2.
“Overall, I thought our team did very well,” said sophomore guard Mikayla Miller (Goodhue, Minn.). “Offensively, we played very patient and created great shots when we needed to. Defensively, we were disciplined and made them uncomfortable. To continue to improve and get better this season, we need to limit turnovers and value every possession. We also need to continue to stay focused on defense and work on getting big stops down the stretch when we need them.”
After a first quarter in which neither team led by more than five at any point, the Cobbers took control in the second, taking their first double digit lead just 1:03 into the quarter at 21-11. Concordia increased its lead to 12 on a Greta Walsh three-pointer with 7:31 to play in the first half, but from that point, Gustavus went on an 11-2 run to end the half and went into halftime down just three at 28-25.
However, Concordia went on a 9-1 run to begin the third quarter and had its lead back to double digits by the 6:50 mark. The Cobbers increased that lead to 14 at 43-29 with 4:32 to play and continued to lead by 14 as late as the 3:16 mark. From that point, it was the Gusties turn to go on a run, and the Black and Gold concluded the quarter on a 9-0 run to bring the score to 45-40 going into the final 10 minutes of play.
There, Gustavus continued its streak with a mini 4-0 surge to begin the quarter, cutting the Cobber lead to 45-44 less than a minute in. From that point, it was Miller time, as the second-year guard scored 11 of Gustavus’s 19 points to close the half, including three from long range. The Gusties took their first lead of the game at 63-61 with 51 seconds to play on one of those Miller treys, but an Olivia Johnson jumper with 27 seconds remaining tied the game at 63-63. Hannah Howard’s (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) turnaround jumper from the block with time expiring dribbled out, sending the game to overtime.
“We had a good warm up and my teammates put me in a good position where I could knock down shots when I was open,” said Miller of her fourth quarter scoring surge.
In the extra period, Gustavus jumped out to an 8-1 run, taking a 71-64 lead with just 2:35 remaining. But the Cobbers would not go quietly, scoring six straight points to bring the Gustie lead to just one with 27 seconds left on the clock. However, with the shot clock then turned off, Concordia was forced to foul Howard to stop time. Howard hit the first of two free-throws, and senior captain Lindsey Johnson (Edina, Minn.) secured an offensive rebound off the second foul shot and scored a putback jumper to put the Gusties ahead four at 74-70. From there, Gustavus was able to hold on, and eventually secured the three-point, 75-72 victory.
Miller led the Gusties on the day, scoring 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including going a whopping 6-for-7 from beyond the arc. The Goodhue product also grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists, and had three steals. Howard was her usual self on the offensive glass, as that’s where she secured six of her nine rebounds. The junior captain also scored nine points. Johnson played a key role as well, scoring 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including going 2-for-3 from three.
As a team, Gustavus shot 64.3 percent from long range, but only 44.8 percent from the floor. Second chance and bench points also continued to be a key factor for the Gusties, as they scored 28 second chance points compared to Concordia’s six, and 32 bench points compared to the Cobbers’ eight.
“We need to take this win and have it give us confidence while continuing our journey this season,” concluded Miller. “Participating in overtime today gave us many chances to execute plays in big-game situations. We’ve been playing great basketball lately and we just need to focus on getting better each and every day.”
Next up for the Gusties is a matchup with St. Olaf on Wednesday at Gus Young Court, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.