SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team will play host to No. 11 Bethel Saturday as they celebrate Senior Day. The Gusties enter the contest 17-5 overall and 13-4 in the MIAC, while the Royals are 21-1 overall and 16-1 in the conference.
Notice About Parking: On Saturday Feb. 15 parking on campus may exceed capacity due to the high number of guests anticipated both for the Herb Chilstrom Memorial Service and campus admission and athletic events. Parking attendants will be present from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. to assist visitor s in finding an available parking spot. This may necessitate going off-campus to overflow parking and taking a shuttle to campus. Drop-off locations are available by Christ Chapel, the Jackson Campus Center, and Lund Center. Please allow extra time either to walk a significant distance across campus to reach your destination or be in remote or overflow parking.
Senior Day: As is tradition at Gustavus, the final home game of the regular season is designated as Senior Day and a special tribute is made to the individuals who have dedicated themselves to Gustavus women’s basketball the past four years. This year, the Athletics Department, Head Coach Laurie Kelly, parents, and fans salute Alison Hinck (White Bear Lake), who has represented the women’s basketball program with pride and class throughout her collegiate career.
The Series: Saturday’s contest marks the 70th contest between the Gusties and Royals with Gustavus currently leading the series 41-28. Bethel though, has won the previous two contests, with the most recent Gustie victory coming on Feb. 10, 2018.
Scouting the Gusties: Gustavus is most recently coming off a 67-65 win over St. Catherine on Wednesday. Caitlin Rorman posted her 11th straight game in double figures in the win, as she is averaging a team-best 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Anna Sanders also kept her scoring outburst going, as the first-year has averaged 16.3 points over the past three games, shooting 12-of-17 from beyond the arc in the same stretch. Through 22 contests this season, the Gusties average 73.2 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting, marks that rank third and second in the MIAC, respectively. Defensively, the Black and Gold have defended the arc better than any other team in the league, limiting opponents to a 27.6 percent clip from long range.
Scouting the Royals: Bethel comes into the contest most recently winning a top-25 matchup with St. Thomas Wednesday. The Royals boast the top offense in the league in most statistical categories, leading the MIAC in points (75.2), field goal percentage (36.5), three point percentage (36.5), and assists (16.4). The only flaw for the Bethel offense has been turnovers, with Bethel turning the ball over 19.0 times a game, the fourth most in the conference. Defensively, Bethel makes up for the turnovers by leading the league in steals by a wide margin with 18.9. The Royals are led by Taite Anderson who leads the league in scoring with 20.7 points per contest, while also shooting the highest percentage of any conference player at 64.5 percent. Makenna Pearson and Elizabeth Schwartz both average 9.9 points per contests for the Royals while Haylee Barker averages 9.7 and a league-best 4.0 steals and 4.0 assists.