SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus women’s basketball team is set to host Saint Benedict at 7 p.m. Friday for a MIAC semifinal playoff matchup at Gus Young Court. As the league’s No. 1 seed, the Gusties earned a first round bye while the fourth-ranked Bennies captured a 73-55 win over No. 5 Bethel Tuesday night.
GUSTIES IN THE MIAC PLAYOFFS
The MIAC Women’s Basketball Playoffs began in 2001, and since then Gustavus has made appearances in each playoff for 21 years with a record of 18-21, including the team’s first playoff championships in 2022. This year’s playoff appearance marks the first year the Gusties own the No. 1 seed and home court advantage outright. The Gusties rolled to the program’s first playoff championship last season, defeating the one-seed Augsburg 65-56 on the road, earning the MIAC’s automatic qualifier to the national tournament. The Gusties fell to Simpson, 73-67, in the first round of NCAA play.
THE SERIES
Friday night’s game will mark the 85th meeting between Gustavus and Saint Benedict on the court, and the seventh playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Gusties holding the winning playoff record, 4-2. The last time the Gusties and Bennies met in the playoffs was 2019, as the No. 5 seed Gusties upset Saint Benedict 73-42 in the quarterfinals before falling to St. Thomas 64-39 in the semifinals.
The Gusties own the two regular season games over the Bennies this season, winning 64-47 in their first meeting, followed by a dominating 83-57 victory earlier this month. In the teams’ first meeting this year, Morgan Kelly (So., Saint Peter) led the Gusties to victory, posting a career-high 17 points to lead the game’s scoring, as well as four blocks on the defensive end. Emma Kniefel (Jr., Medford) and Anna Sanders (Sr., Vadnais Heights) posted 10 points each, with Sanders earning her first double-double of the season, adding 12 rebounds on top of her 10 points.
In their second meeting on Feb. 1, the Gusties totaled 83 points to roll past the Bennies by a margin of 26. Sanders and Kylie Baranick (So., Maple Grove) led the Gusties through the game, going 7-for-12 and 8-for-10 from the field, respectively, totaling a combined 38 points in the game. Baranick tied her career-high points from earlier in the season at 21, and shared the love with her teammates, dishing out seven assists as well.
The Gusties enter the semifinal on a 15-game winning streak, having won all of their games since Jan. 4. The Gusties have totaled 75 points or more in 10 of those 15 victories, including a season-high 91 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 18.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
Gustavus captured its third MIAC regular season championship, and first outright championship in program history, finishing the season with a 20-2 league record. The Gusties, who cracked the top-10 in the national rankings this week at No. 10, have a 23-2 overall record, lead the MIAC in virtually every statistical category, and boast five top-10 NCAA statistics. Anna Sanders stands as the team’s offensive leader, totaling 321 points this season for an average of 12.8 per game. Sanders has been lethal from the 3-point arc, posting a 3-point percentage of 44.6% this season, good for second in the nation. Kylie Baranick leads the team in assists this season at 87. Baranick’s assist/turnover ratio of 3.48 is best in the MIAC and 5th-best in NCAA DIII this year. Grace Benz (Sr., Steele, N.D.) leads the team in rebounds, posting 175 this season for an average of 7.0 per game, while Rachel Kawiecki (So., Richfield) leads the team and the conference in offensive rebounds per game with 3.2 and 81 on the season.
SCOUTING THE BENNIES
Saint Benedict entered MIAC post-season play as the No. 4 seed, having carried a record of 17-8 overall and 14-8 in the conference. The Bennies rolled past Bethel 73-55 on Tuesday night, led by Carla Meyer who totaled a game-high and career-best 27 points, shooting 11-for-15 in the quarterfinal game. Meyer added a game-high seven assists, while teammate Sophia Jonas added 18 points to the total. Against the league-leading Gusties, Meyer totaled 25 points between the two games, and leads her team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. Meyer’s 96 assists lead the conference, while Jonas’ 81 three-pointers are first in the conference and fifth in the NCAA. The Bennies have made 17 appearances in the MIAC playoffs, claiming three championship victories with their most recent coming in 2009.