ST. PETER, Minn. – Women’s basketball player Miranda Rice (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) and men’s diver Logan Bican (Fy., Monticello, Minn.) have been selected as the Gustavus Adolphus College January Female and Male Student-Athletes-of-the-Month, presented by Thrivent Financial and voted on by the Gustavus Sports Information Department.
Miranda Rice
Women’s Basketball
Hometown: Forest Lake, Minn.
High School: Forest Lake
Major: Elementary Education
Parents: Jim Rice and Sarah Londerville of Forest Lake, Minn.
In the month of January, Miranda Rice helped carry the Gusties to an 8-0 record en route to a women’s basketball program record 19-straight wins. Rice started in all eight games for Gustavus and totaled double-digit performances in each game to compile a team-best 152 points for an average of 19 points per game. She finished the month of January ranking as the third-leading scorer in the MIAC with 17.1 points per game as well as ranking second with a 60.4 field goal percentage.
Rice collected 36 rebounds for a clip of 4.5 per game, 14 assists, and 14 steals. She was also an efficient shooter, going 65-for-105 from the field, good for a 61.9 field goal percentage and shot 22-for-32 from the free throw line.
Her January performance was highlighted by a career-high 30-point performance against the College of Saint Benedict on Jan. 7, beating her previous career-best performance of 26 set against Martin Luther Nov. 11. Rice was 12-for-17 from the field and matched a season-high with nine rebounds. In the Jan. 18 win versus St. Catherine University, Rice shot a season-best 81.8 percent from the field, going 9-for-11 to tally 18 points.
Logan Bican
Men’s Diving
Hometown: Monticello, Minn.
High School: Monticello
Major: Physics
Parents: Brian and Jackie Bican of Monticello, Minn.
In the month of January, Bican helped the Gustavus men’s swimming & diving team to three dual meet victories over Carleton College, Hamline University, and Saint John’s University. Through three meets, Bican claimed two top scores and two runner-up finishes including a regional qualifying score. The last Gustie men’s diver to qualify for regionals came from Bennet Woltjer in 2014.
Jan. 13 at Carleton, Bican and the Gusties prevailed by a margin of 189-109 with Bican collecting a runner-up score in three-meter diving, tallying 232.10 points. Jan. 20 against Hamline on senior night, Bican earned the top score in three-meter diving with 260.25 points as Gustavus took down the Pipers by a score of 203-94. Finally, at Saint John’s Jan. 28, Bican added another three-meter diving score with 427.7 points as well as posting 448.50 points in a runner-up finish in one-meter diving to help the Black and Gold defeat the Johnnies, 147-96. Bican’s one-meter diving score of 448.50 points sealed a spot in the NCAA regionals.