The big game on this Wednesday night took place over at Schoenecker Arena in St Paul as GAC made the trip up US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub portion of the famed "Omaha Route" to the Cities to take on host UST. The Gusties brought not only an unblemished 5-0 record but a heap of momentum with them as well after dispatching Bethel on Monday night. The Tommies meanwhile were 4-1 and had scored a resounding win at home over Augsburg this last Saturday so everything seemed to be set for quite the matchup. Both teams would trade baskets in the early minutes of the opening period but a "3" by Gustie sophomore forward Caitlin Rorman at the 7:01 mark seemed to have things pointing GAC's way with a 9-6 advantage. But that bomb was quickly matched by UST senior guard Macy Hatelstad a bit later at the 6:15 mark that tied the game and the Tommies would eventually stretch that lead to 15-9 with 3:46 left as the Gusties came up empty during that stretch. To their credit, GAC would eventually close the gap to one point down 15-14 with 2:34 left but then UST would close the first period on a 7-2 push highlighted by a "3" by junior guard Julia Bjurman with just :35 left to give them a 22-16 advantage. Early in the second period, Hatlestad would throw another three-point dagger at the heart of the Gusties to give UST a 25-18 but, once again, GAC would close to within a single possession down 25-23 when senior point guard Ava Gonsorowski nailed a "3" at the 5:37 mark. But getting the game tied again; much less actually going ahead, was proving to be problematic for the Gusties as UST would again widen the gap to six points at 31-25 on two free throws by senior forward Kaia Porter with 4:20 left. GAC would attempt to tighten things up down the stretch but the Tommies took that five-point lead up 38-33 into the locker room at the halftime break.
The Gusties needed to get off on a good note once the third period got going and a "3" by willowy senior guard Marisa Gustafson at the 9:23 mark and a Gonsorowski lay-up shortly afterward at the 9:03 mark suddenly had this game tied again at 38 a piece and one might have thought that GAC had regained its sense of purpose and finally had momentum on its side. And two Rorman free throws at the 8:34 mark to give the Gusties their first lead since early on in the first period only underscored that notion. Strangely enough, however, GAC would again start coming up empty on key possessions that allowed the Tommies to not only regain control of the game but also re-establish the five-point lead at 48-43 at the 5:53 mark. Once again, the Gusties would manage to close within a single possession down by two at 52-50 but they would never get over the hump. Two late free throws by sophomore guard Jordyn Glynn and a tough lay-up by senior guard Noelle Tomes with just :06 left in the third period had UST up 60-54. GAC would again close to within a single possession early in the fourth period as a lay-up in transition by junior post Betsy Schoenrock at the 7:24 mark and a jumper by freshman guard Emma Kniefel at the 6:36 mark had the Gusties tantalizingly close down 60-58. Kniefel would strike again at the 5:38 mark with a lay-up in transition and keep GAC in that two-point range down 62-60 with a mountain of time left. But just when the Gusties seemed primed to launch an offensive down the stretch to finally usurp control of this game, they would come up empty on key possessions and, worse yet, were unable to get key stops when they absolutely needed to as UST claimed a 77-64 victory. I look at the final box score on this one and although the Gusties were outrebounded by a 36-27 count, they had only 10 turnovers to UST's 16 so I can almost give a pass on the rebounding front. No, really where the Gusties lost this one is that they simply didn't shoot the ball very well on this night. Consider - they were 21-55 from FG range for 38.2% and 5-22 from downtown for 22.7% and you and I both know that that's not even close to being good enough against UST at Schoenecker or the moon for that matter. Contrast that with UST's 28-51 for 54.9% and 10-22 from behind the arc for 45.5%. Not earth-shattering by any stretch but the way GAC shot the ball on this night, they didn't have to shoot that great. What a night it was for Hatlestad on her home court one last time with her 16 points (including 4 killer three-point bombs) and Tomes, too, had a solid outing with her 13 points. Porter would finish with 11 points and freshman post Kate Burns surprisingly finished with 10 points. GAC meanwhile had to rely heavily on Rorman as she led all scorers with 20 points and Gonsorowski would tally 10 points on this night.
One other game in the MIAC on this night saw CSB holding off a determined effort by host Augsburg as the Bennies escaped Si Melby Hall with a 68-62 victory. CSB seemingly had things well in control heading into the fourth period with a cozy 58-40 lead but the Auggies would come back strong in the fourth and final period only to wind up short. No surprise as senior forward Maddie Schmitz led the way for CSB with her 18 points while freshman point guard Carla Meyer had 14 points. Junior guard Madison Doran would tally 13 points and junior guard Kate Seyer finished with 12 points in an incredibly balanced attack. A great outing for Auggie junior forward Jen Masello who is really coming into her own as she had 21 points to lead all scorers in this contest while sophomore forward Jaley Coplin and fellow sophomore guard Grace Eastman both finished with 10 points a piece.
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