The Gustavus women’s basketball team used a 23-2 second half run to erase an 11-point Tommie lead and then held on for an important 67-53 win at St. Thomas on Wednesday night. Bri Monahan led the Gusties with 20 points and nine rebounds, while first year point guard Bri Radtke turned in the finest performance of her young career as she totalled 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
The two teams battled back-and-forth in the first half with neither team holding more than a four-point lead. The Gusties were fortunate to be within two of St. Thomas at the half (28-26), as Coach Mickey Haller’s team shot a cool 31.0 percent from the field (9-29) and an even chillier 21. 4 percent from behind the arc (3-14). The Tommies managed to connect on a solid 48.1 percent of their shots from the field (13-27), but Coach Ruth Sinn’s squad also struggled from long range missing all six three-point shots they attempted.
St. Thomas used an 8-0 run towards the middle of the second half to extend its lead to 11 points at 41-30 with 12:22 left in the game. Gustavus however, responded with a 14-0 run to forge into the lead by the score of 44-41. That 14-0 run was the start of the 23-2 run that sealed the win for the Gusties.
Gustavus made five treys in its second-half comeback and outscored UST 24-3 from 3-point range in the contest. The Gusties shot only 37% on the game but had a 40-34 rebounding advantage.
Freshman guard Brianna Radtke had 12 of her 18 points in the second half and added six rebounds and six assists. Junior guard Jess Vadnais scored 12 points. Monahan had eight of her nine rebounds in the second half, and Kenzie Consoer had four second-half assists.
UST sophomore center DeJurnett Prioleau had a career-high 17 points and added nine rebounds, and senior forward Melissa Gotchnik had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Gustavus (9-2, 6-2) will return home on Saturday to face Hamline at 3:00 pm, while St. Thomas (5-3, 6-5) will travel to Moorhead to play Concordia at 3:00 pm.