Miranda Rice scored 11 points and grabbed six boards in Wednesday’s big win over Saint Benedict.
Gustavus 52, Saint Benedict 51 (Box)
SAINT JOSPEH, Minn. – After suffering a 70-61 overtime loss to the College of Saint Benedict in St. Peter on Jan. 20, the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s basketball team headed to Saint Joseph on Wednesday evening seeking a little bit of payback. The Gusties got their wish, holding the Blazers scoreless for the final 2:06 of the game to earn a 52-51 victory at Claire Lynch Hall.
After scoring just 21 points in the entire first half, the Gusties exploded for 20 in the third quarter, going on a 20-7 run to erase a 26-21 Blazer halftime lead and take a 41-33 lead into the final 10 minutes. Saint Benedict battled back though, retaking its lead at 47-46 with 3:25 to play and tied the game at 51-51 with 2:06 to play. However, with 1:51 to play, the Blazers’ Grace Wolhowe fouled Stephanie Klockmann (So., Brownton, Minn.) who made 1-of-2 free-throws to seal the win for the Black and Gold, clinching it the No. 3 seed in next week’s MIAC Playoffs.
“Saint Benedict played great defense and didn’t allow us to score easily tonight,” said Coach Laurie Kelly. “We average almost 70 points per game and they held us to 52 tonight. That being said, I’m very excited that we earned the win. To lose to them in overtime the first game after a last second shot in regulation and then be in the same situation tonight and get a stop was huge, and our team should feel great about that. Credit to our defense and to our entire team for showing grit and heart, especially down the stretch.”
Saint Benedict took off in the first quarter, building a lead of seven after 10 minutes. The Gusties cut the Blazer lead down to five by the end of the first half bringing the score to 26-21. Gustavus came back strong after halftime with a 4-0 run in the first 40 seconds of the half, which cut the Blazer lead to one. Mikayla Miller (So., Goodhue, Minn.) shot two free throws at 8:00 to tie the game, and scored a three-pointer at 7:31 to give the Gusties their first lead of the game. By the end of the third quarter, the Gusties had built a lead of eight. Despite the Blazer push down the stretch though, Gustavus prevailed and came away with the one-point win.
Leading scorers for the Gusties were Miller with 12 and Lindsey Johnson (Sr., Edina, Minn.) and Miranda Rice (So., Forest Lake, Minn.) who each had 11. Wolhowe led the Blazers with 11 after scoring the first seven Blazer points.
“Our team has worked really hard since Oct. 15 to put ourselves in this position and I’m excited that after Senior Day on Saturday, our seniors are going to have at least one more opportunity to play on our home floor,” said Kelly. “It’s something we’re not taking for granted, and we want to keep the momentum flowing as much as we can going into Saturday and next Tuesday’s game.”
The Gusties host the Carleton College Knights this Saturday at 3 p.m. at Gus Young Court.