SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team begins postseason play Tuesday night at Saint Benedict in the MIAC quarterfinals. Tipoff in St. Joseph, Minn. is set for 7 p.m. at Claire Lynch Hall. The No. 5 seed Gusties enter the game 14-11 overall, while the No. 4 seed Bennies are 15-10. Both teams finished the conference season 11-7, but the Bennies won the tiebreaker with a series sweep over the Gusties.
GUSTIES IN THE PLAYOFFS
Since the initiation of the six-team MIAC Tournament in the 2000-01 season, the Gusties have qualified for the conference playoffs every year. Gustavus is making its 19th consecutive appearance in the MIAC Playoffs this season, holding a record of 12-17 in that time. No team in the MIAC has earned a trip to the league playoffs every year except for Gustavus. Road playoff games have been tough on the Gusties as they are 1-16 MIAC postseason games as the visiting team. Gustavus has yet to claim a MIAC playoff title, but it has earned seven trips to the NCAA tournament, including a run to the Sweet 16 last season.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
Gustavus finished the regular season Saturday with a convincing 81-51 win at Concordia. The Gusties rank in the MIAC’s top-three in field goal percent (41.2), assists (15.2), steals (12.5), points against (57.9), turnovers (15.2), and personal fouls (15.9). Kendall Thompson leads the offense with 14.3 points per game, while shooting 41.9 percent from the field. Thompson also leads the team with 80 assists, 76 steals, and 5.6 rebounds per game. Justine Lee averages 13.3 points and ranks 13th in Gustavus women’s basketball history with 1,006 career points. Lee has also played in 111 career games and is two shy of breaking the program record. Paige Richert is the third Gustie to average double figures with 10.0 points per game.
SCOUTING THE BENNIES
Saint Ben’s enters the postseason most recently defeating Carleton 68-52 on Saturday. The Bennies have won five of their last six games and have won five straight at home. They play disciplined basketball as the least penalized team in the MIAC with 13.4 personal fouls per game. The Bennies shoot 40.2 percent from the field and average 65.0 points per game, ranking fourth and fifth in the MIAC, respectively. Their three-point percentage of 32.6 is third best in the league. Defensively, CSB allows 66.4 points per game and opponents shoot 41.3 percent. Megan Thompson leads the offense with 13.6 points per game and shoots 41.6 percent from the floor, including 30.8 percent from three-point range. Maddie Schmitz averages 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. Alex Johnson is the third Bennie to average double figures with 10.1 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game.