Was over at the Butler Center on this Saturday afternoon to take in this tilt between Gustavus and host St. Kate's. The Gusties, coming off that tough home loss to league-leading UST on Wednesday night would be looking to rebound and reassert themselves while the cellar-dweller 'Cats were just hoping to find some consistent play on both sides of the ball and to fight for an entire 40 minutes. For the St. Kate's contingent, today was something of a special day as former Wildcat standouts, Rachel Hakanson (Berglund), Ashley Linsmeier (Busch), Erin Aukes (Petrich), Jenna Tanner (Martin), and others were in attendance to root on their alma mater.
It didn't take long at all for the black-clad Gusties to make an early statement as they raced out to an 11-0 lead. Senior forward Abby Rothenbuehler easily scored inside at the 19:38 mark and then fellow senior forward/guard Kelsey Florian got a lay-up in transition after a St. Kate's turnover. Then it was senior point guard Steph Comer draining a "3" from the right corner at the 17:46 mark. And then it was freshman post Karina Schroeder (easily making a case for freshman of the year) getting a score inside at the 16:33 mark and then connecting with a lay-up in transition just a few seconds later at the 16:14 that prompted St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton to call a timeout to get his squad re-organized. Lanky sophomore forward Sarah Mong finally got the 'Cats on the board at the 16:02 mark but the Gusties extended their lead to as much as 15-2 by the 15:21 mark before St. Kate's was able to mount a push to make things interesting. Junior guard Kristen Lee connected with a "3" from the right top at the 14:57 mark and then freshman transfer Shauna Horsch did the same at the 14:16 mark that got the 'Cats to within ten. Sophomore forward Mary Neumann also banged home a "3" from the left corner at the 13:01 mark and then it was Lee making an incredibly tough jumper with Gusties all over her from the top of the key at the 11:13 mark. Sophomore forward Sarina Baker's score inside at the 10:31 mark cut Gustavus' lead down to 23-17 and gave the home team reason for hope - at least temporarily anyway.
Trouble was, the Gusties wanted to wash the bad taste out of their mouths from Wednesday night and the 'Cats never could get any closer as Gustavus made their move to open up the lead again. Diminutive reserve point guard Shelly Blashko proved once again that she's not afraid at all to mix it up in the land of the giants as she manuevered inside for a finish at the 10:01 mark and then it was Schroeder who really began to tear up St. Kate's in the paint as she scored inside on consecutive possessions at the 7:45 and and 7:16 marks that upped the lead back to fourteen at 31-17. Charity stripe points from junior sharpshooter Julia Dysthie and Florian got the lead to 34-17 with 5:37 left and then it was Rothenbuehler snaring an offensive rebound and getting a putback at the 5:19 mark. After withstanding two scores by the 'Cats freshman Cynthia Cowan and Baker, junior Britta Rinke was able to get inside with 3:41 left for a score and then it was Florian connecting from behind the arc in the left corner area with 2:00 left that got the lead to twenty at 41-21 and the Gusties were able to keep that safe range going into the locker room at the half up 45-26.
The Gusties would not repeat that little gap in the second half that they allowed in the first half when the 'Cats creeped to within single digits as Gustavus kept attacking with a variety of players. Dysthie showed that she's more than just a perimeter shooter as she scored inside to open up the second half at the 19:27 mark and then it was Schroeder knocking down a short jumper and getting fouled in the process that, along with the obligatory free throw got the lead to 51-28 by the 16:33 mark. Then it was Blashko; seemingly coming out of nowhere to to snare a steal near mid-court and streak the other way for a lay-up at the 15:46 mark for a 53-28 Gustie lead. Up 57-33, Blashko then connected on a jumper in transition to make it a 59-33 game by the 11:14 mark. Florian then got a lay-up in transition with 10:40 left and then it was #24 again doing damage inside just before the midway point to give the Gusties their largest lead at 63-33.
Despite the game pretty much being out of range for the Wildcats by this point, they nonetheless kept fighting and clawing for anything they could get. Neumann banged home a "3" from the right wing with 8:55 left and then Cowan scored inside with 7:58 left. Neumann got inside again for a score with 6:27 left and another "3" from the sophomore from Duluth got the 'Cats a bit closer but would not do anything in terms of changing the inevitable outcome. Sophomore guard Amanda Padilla enjoyed a moment of glory when she hit a "3" from the right wing and got fouled in the process with 3:53 left. But by this time Gustavus was already up 71-48 and with a little over two minutes left, Head Coach Laurie Kelly put in her reserves and the Gusties coasted to an easy 76-57 victory. That win, coupled with CSB's stunning upset of league-leading UST this afternoon, shoved the Gusties back into a first-place tie with the Tommies - and suddenly put the big picture in the MIAC in flux.
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