(Photo courtesy of David Faulkner, SPX Sports.)
SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 23 Gustavus women’s basketball team will play host to No. 17 St. Thomas on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest. Both teams enter the contest 14-4 overall and 10-3 in the MIAC.
The Series: Saturday’s contest marks the 78th all-time meeting between the two teams with St. Thomas leading 62-23. The teams met earlier this season, with the Gusties taking a 62-57 win on Dec. 7, 2019.
Scouting the Gusties: Gustavus is coming off their first home loss of the season after suffering a 64-53 defeat against Saint Ben’s Wednesday. The Gusties continue to rank at the top of the conference in points per game, with 72.4 which ranks third. The Black and Gold have played solid defense over the year, ranking third in the conference in scoring defense (59.0) and steals (11.5) and first in opponents three-point field goal percentage (27.1). Caitlin Rorman continues to make a name for herself in the MIAC, ranking fourth in the league in points per game (16.4) and third in field goal percentage (60.3). Ava Gonsorowski’s 13.9 points per game are second on the team and she leads all Gusties with 3.3 assists per game.
Scouting the Tommies: St. Thomas is most recently coming off a 60-56 loss to Augsburg on Wednesday. The Tommies average 64.9 points per contest which ranks fourth in the MIAC, while their 53.7 points allowed is first. They also rank second in the MIAC in both field goal and three point percentage with marks of 46.1 and 36.2, respectively. Brynne Rolland leads St. Thomas in scoring with 17.9 points per game, and has averaged 25.3 points over the last three contests. Macy Hatlestad is the other Tommie that averages double figures with 10.6 points per game, while shooting the three at a clip of 43.4 percent, the highest of any MIAC player that averages two makes per game.