St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s basketball team outscored St. Catherine University 17-10 in overtime on its way to an 85-78 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Butler Center. Gustavus improves to 13-4 overall and 7-3 in the MIAC, while St. Catherine drops to 7-10 overall and 2-8 in the MIAC.
“I’m really proud of our team and the way we competed today,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “It was a battle of a game and we are fortunate to come away with a win against a St. Kate’s team that fought to the bitter end. To go on the road and get a win in the MIAC is always a challenge, so to come out on top and get back on track is a big step forward now that we are more than halfway through the conference season.”
Despite an 11-point halftime lead, the Gusties found themselves trailing by 10 points (68-58) with just over three minutes to play in the game. Thanks to an offensive surge and a lockdown defensive effort in the remaining minutes of regulation, Gustavus used 10-0 scoring-run to send the game to overtime tied 68-68. Within the final three minutes, Gustavus went 3-for-7 from the floor with two three-pointers (both by Lindsey Johnson) and two free throws, and forced four turnovers and held the Wildcats to 0-for-2 shooting.
“With less than three minutes to go, we were in a big hole,” Kelly said about the finish of regulation. “That’s when our upperclassmen took over. Lindsey Johnson and Maddie Ehrich were amazing down the stretch. Lindsey had back-to-back threes that got us back into the game, and we did a tremendous job getting quality shots and executing on the offensive end.”
The two teams went back-and-forth and traded leads through the opening three minutes of overtime. It wasn’t until the 1:06 mark when Maddie Ehrich (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) knocked down a jumper that Gustavus was able to go up by two possessions with a 78-74 lead. St. Catherine was unable to make up the deficit, and the Gusties cashed in on each of their possessions from that point on.
Coach Kelly said that the early stage of overtime was a grind that she is proud of her team’s perseverance and poise. “Offensively, we were getting good looks and scoring on nearly every possession. Defensively, we struggled and didn’t have the intensity needed. We were finally able to turn it on and get a few stops in the final two minutes, and that turned out to be the difference. I might need a defibrillator soon, but it was fun to see us finish well and gut out a win.”
The Gusties benefited from a breakout performance by Lindsey Johnson (Jr., Edina, Minn.). Johnson scored a career-high 28 points after going 11-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range, and 3-for-4 at the line. The junior was exceptionally good in the second half and overtime, scoring 15 points and going 6-for-8 from the field.
“Lindsey played a career game today,” said Kelly about her junior captain. “From how she shot to how she distributed the ball, we saw Lindsey play up to her potential today. At the tight moments of the game, we ran plays to get her good looks and she was able to deliver. She likes to have the ball in her hands in those situations and that’s what we need from our captain.”
Complimenting Johnson’s showing was fellow senior Maddie Ehrich who scored 20 points after going 7-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the line. Ehrich led the way in overtime, scoring eight points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field and knocking down two free throws.
“In overtime especially, Maddie played like a senior and was a force in the paint,” Kelly said. “We were able to isolate her inside on some of their smaller guards and she was able to take advantage and go to work on the blocks.”
The Gusties finished the game 49.2-percent (31-63) from the field, 27.3-percent (3-11) from three, and 71.4-percent (20-28) at the line. It was the team’s best shooting performance in five games since going .557 from the field against Augsburg on Jan. 7.
“Our bench gave us some good minutes today,” added Kelly. “It hasn’t been very often this year that every one of our players who steps on the court scores. It demonstrates how good of a team win this was. When this team comes to fight, it is tough to beat. In the games that haven’t gone our way, we haven’t had that fight. We only gave up four offensive rebounds and had 22 assists – that’s good team basketball and that gives us confidence in our ability to compete against anyone.”
St. Catherine shot 42.4-percent (25-29) from the field, 40.9-percent (9-22) from three and 90.5-percent (19-21) at the line. Leading the way individually was Shauna Horsch who scored 28 points (5-13 FG, 4-7 3PT) after going a perfect 14-for-14 at the charity stripe. LaShay Holt added 19 points (8-13 FG), while Audra Clark scored 10 (3-13 FG).
The Gustavus women’s basketball team will be back on the hardwood Wednesday, Jan. 28 when it plays host to the University of St. Thomas at 7:00 p.m. on Gus Young Court.