ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team is tasked with facing the top team in the league Wednesday night on the road as it takes No. 12-ranked St. Thomas. The Gusties enter the matchup, slated to tip off at 7 p.m., 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC, while the Tommies are 15-2 overall and 10-0 in the league.
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The Series: Wednesday’s game marks the 82nd meeting between Gustavus and St. Thomas in women’s basketball with the Tommies leading the all-time series 58-23. St. Thomas is currently on a 19-game win streak in the series with the last Gustavus win coming on Feb. 17, 2010. The Tommies won game one of this season’s series 74-66 on Dec. 13 in St. Peter. The Tommies used a 29-11 advantage in the second quarter to create separation and fended off a second half comeback to secure the win in a match of nationally ranked teams.
The first quarter featured a back-and-forth affair to start before the Gusties scored 10 unanswered points to take a 16-10 advantage after the first 10 minutes. The home team increased their lead by nine in the first two minutes of the second frame, but that’s when the Tommies went on a 27-6 run to close out the half, taking a 39-27 advantage into the locker room.
After trading buckets to start the third quarter, the Gusties found a rhythm by scoring 12 unanswered points, fueled in large part by Mikayla Miller’s (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) 10 points in that span, to take a 48-47 lead with 3:31 left in the frame. But that would be the home team’s last lead of the night as the Tommies finished the third quarter with an 11-5 run. Gustavus got within four points with 1:57 left in the game, but could not complete the comeback as St. Thomas made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds to close out the game.
Scouting the Tommies: St. Thomas enters Wednesday’s matchup on an eight-game win streak, most recently defeating previously MIAC-unbeaten Saint Benedict 77-52 on Saturday. Hannah Spaulding is the league’s leading scorer with 20.1 points per game shoots a MIAC-best 71.1 percent from the floor. Her 8.2 rebounds per game rank fifth in the conference. Lucia Renikoff averages 13.8 points per game and leads the team’s starting five at the free throw line, shooting 88.6 percent from the charity stripe. The Tommies lead the league in scoring (75.1 ppg), field goal percentage (47.5), three-point percentage (39.6), and turnovers (13.9 per game).