Paige Richert goes up for a layup against St. Thomas. (photo courtesy of David Faulkner, SPX Sports)
SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 23 Gustavus women’s basketball team played down to the wire with No. 17 St. Thomas, falling 68-67 at Gus Young Court Saturday. With the loss the Gusties fall to 14-5 overall and 10-4 in the MIAC while the Tommies move to 15-4 overall and 11-3 in the league.
The Gusties and Tommies played even in the early going before St. Thomas would take a 17-13 lead. Gustavus would then go on a 8-0 run capped off by a Paige Richert (Jr., Comfrey) and-one to take a four-point lead into the second quarter.
The Tommies would use a trio of three pointers early in the second quarter to go on an 11-4 run and retook the lead at 28-25. Each team would put up two more points before Gustavus would once again hit its stride, with Richert capping off a 11-2 Gustie run with two baskets to put her at 17 first half points. The Tommies would get four points late including a buzzer-beating jumper to to pull the Gustavus lead to two points at the break
The third quarter played no different than the first two, with the two teams trading buckets early and Gustavus slowly pushing its lead to 48-43 with 6:32 remaining in the third frame. The Tommies would answer taking a 52-50 lead, before the teams would play back and forth the remainder of the quarter and went into the fourth tied at 56.
The final quarter was the lowest scoring of the game, with the Tommies scoring five straight points to open the frame. Two made free throws by Caitlin Rorman (Fy., Blue Earth) and three from the charity stripes by Richert evened things back up with 4:51 remaining in the game. The Tommies then drilled a huge three-pointer before four straight points from Marisa Gustafson (Jr., Mahtomedi) passed the lead back to Gustavus with 3:19 to play.
With Gustavus leading 65-64, the Tommies would hit a jumper in the paint to regain the lead before a Richert layup with 1:36 remaining put Gustavus in control. St. Thomas would answer on the ensuing possession with another bucket to go up 68-67 before the Gusties final three possessions couldn’t elicit a bucket and the Tommies took the win.
Richert led the Gusties with 22 points while Rorman and Gustafson each had 12, with Gustafson adding a game-high eight rebounds. Alison Hinck (Jr., Vadnais Heights) also had a strong game for the Gusties with 10 points.
Gustavus is back in action Wednesday when they host Carleton for a 7 p.m. contest.