ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team is back on the road Saturday taking on Hamline at 3 p.m. The Gusties enter the conference game 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the MIAC, while the Pipers are on the exact other end of the spectrum at 4-16 overall and 3-10 in the league.
The Series: Saturday’s game marks the 74th meeting between Gustavus and Hamline in women’s basketball with the Gusties leading the all-time series 63-10, including the last three wins in the series.
The then No. 12-ranked Gustavus women’s basketball team defeated Hamline University 82-50 earlier this season on Dec. 9 and in the process Miranda Rice recorded her 1,000th career point, becoming just the 12th Gustie women’s basketball player to do so. Rice finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Mikayla Miller, who made the 1K club last season, totaled double-digit scoring numbers for the fifth consecutive game, notching 14 points to pass Linn Erickson (1983-87) for fourth place on the all-time scoring list with 1,408 career points. Additionally, Taylor Anderson totaled 11 points, while Justine Lee notched a season-high five steals and Brooke Lemke registered a season-high five assists.
The Gusties forced 31 Hamline turnovers, with 33 points coming off those Piper mistakes. After the visitors converted on the first bucket of the game, it was all Black and Gold from then on. Gustavus jumped out to a 22-11 lead after the first quarter and held a 43-18 lead at halftime. A layup from Miller gave the home team its largest advantage of the game, as the Gusties led by 42 points at 74-32 with 6:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Scouting the Pipers: Hamline is currently riding a four-game losing streak within the conference, most recently falling 78-56 at Augsburg on Wednesday. After 20 games this season, Alaina Quaranta and Reilly Geisfeld lead the offense with 11.9 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. They are also the team’s top rebounders as Geistfeld averages 6.3 rebounds per game and Quaranta averages 4.0 per game. As a team, the Pipers average 57.5 points per game and shoot 35.4 percent from the field.
Playoff picture: Gustavus can clinch a spot in the MIAC playoffs with a win Saturday or a loss by St. Catherine, who hosts league-leading St. Thomas. The Gusties have qualified for the MIAC playoffs every year since the league initiated a postseason tournament in 2001. St. Thomas and Saint Benedict have already clinched berths to the MIAC playoffs, which run Feb. 20-24.