ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team is set to take on No. 3-ranked Thomas More College in the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The four-team sectional round is hosted by Hope College in Holland, Mich. Hope will host Christopher Newport University at 6:30 p.m. Friday and the winners will face each other at 6 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Rochester, Minn. on March 16-17.
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Ticket Information: Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-18. Children 2 & under are free. Tickets can be purchased in advance through the Hope College ticket office, 100 East Eighth Street, from Tuesday, March 6-Friday, March 9 between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or by calling (616) 395-7890. They can be purchased at DeVos Fieldhouse on Friday, March 9 beginning at 4:30 p.m. There are no online sales. All seating is general admission in designated sections. Tickets for Saturday’s game will be sold to fans of advancing teams after Friday’s games, or Saturday, March 10 beginning at 6 p.m.
NCAA tournament history: Gustavus is making its second straight NCAA tournament appearance and seventh overall (1991, 95, 2003, 07, 08, 17, 18). The Gusties are 3-6 in national tourney games, with their first win coming against Loras in the first round of the 2003 tournament. The next two wins came last weekend against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and UW-Whitewater to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
The Series: Friday’s game against Thomas More is the first time the two programs will meet in women’s basketball. If the Gusties advance for a Saturday matchup versus either Hope or Christopher Newport, it will also mark the first meeting between both opponents.
Scouting Thomas More: The Saints earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with their 11th consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. Division III national champions two seasons ago, the Saints fell in the second round of the national tournament last year. This season, Thomas More is the national leader with 2,526 total points while ranking second with 87.1 points per game. The Saints also rank first in Division III in scoring margin (+36.9), field goal percentage (49.3), and three-point field goal percentage (41.6).
Program Leaders: 28 points shy of breaking the career scoring program record, Mikayla Miller (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) tallied a combined 40 points versus Rose-Hulman and UW-Whitewater to surpass Jess Vadnais (2004-08) (1,779 points) as the all-time leading scorer in Gustavus basketball history (men and women) with 1,792 career points. Miller is also the program record holder in career steals (309) and career field goals made (629). Miranda Rice (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) played in her 110th and 111th career games last weekend, extending her program record for games played. Rice has 514 points this season and is 22 points shy of setting the program record for most points in a season.
All-MIAC: Mikayla Miller and Miranda Rice earned MIAC All-Conference, Kendall Thompson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) was named honorable mention, and Ava Gonsorowski (Fy., Esko, Minn.) was honored as MIAC Rookie of the Year. Miller was also named to the MIAC All-Defensive Team.