SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team will travel to St. Paul, Minn. Wednesday to take on St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. contest. The Gusties enter 16-5 overall and 12-4 in the MIAC, while the Wildcats are 11-10 overall and 8-8 in the league.
The Series: Wednesday’s matchup marks the 62nd all-time meeting between the two teams with Gustavus holding a 56-5 series lead. The teams met twice last year with St. Catherine winning 64-58 on Jan. 12 in St. Paul, before the Gusties took the contest in St. Peter 69-56 on Feb. 9.
Scouting the Gusties: Following a pair of losses, Gustavus put together two of its strongest performances last week, defeating Carleton 90-61 Wednesday before defeating St. Olaf 82-45 Saturday. Through 21 games, the Gusties average 73.3 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting, marks which rank second and third in the MIAC, respectively. Defensively, they allow 58.9 points per contest while holding opponents to 38.5 percent shooting from the field, with both numbers ranking fourth in the league. Caitlin Rorman leads the Gusties with 16.4 points per contest, with her 62.9 field goal percentage ranking second in the conference. Ava Gonsorowski and Paige Richert both also average double figures with marks of 13.0 and 11.2, respectively. Anna Sanders has been solid of late for the Gusties, scoring 22 and 11 points last week, while shooting 66.7 percent from the field.
Scouting the Wildcats: Winners of three straight, St. Catherine is vying for a playoff spot, sitting at 8-8 in the conference and holding a two-game lead for the final MIAC playoff spot with four games remaining. The Wildcats average 59.3 points per contest, while shooting 39.0 percent from the field, marks ranking 10th and eighth, respectively. St. Kate’s has starred on the defensive end, allowing just 58.2 points per contest which is third in the conference, while holding opponents to a 38.8 field goal percentage which ranks fifth. Danica Cambrice paces the Wildcat offense and is the lone player averaging double figures with 14.9 points per game while she adds a team-best 6.9 rebounds. Katie Benjamin and Jackie Radford are the next top scorers for St. Kate’s averaging 7.7 and 7.5 points, respectively, with Radford averaging 6.1 rebounds and a team-high 2.9 assists.