Tough road trip stifles the Gustie women as they prepare for the playoffs

The women’s basketball team had three crucial conference matchups over the last week. They first defeated St. Mary’s with a final of 70-56, but then lost a pair of road games against Macalester and then Concordia.

Abby Rothenbuehler was the spark for the Gusties in the St. Mary’s matchup, as she finished the contest with a game-high 23 points, going 9 for 13 from the field. Her 9 buckets included a perfect four-for-four from three-point range and she was one rebound shy of a double double.

“She was feeling it tonight,” head coach Mickey Haller said of Rothenbuehler’s play. “She made good choices with the ball right away from the get-go. There was no holding Abby back, she had a great game.”

The Gusties had a narrow one-point lead against St. Mary’s at halftime, but opened up the second half with a 10-2 run and never looked back.

The Gustie Women didn’t fare quite as well last Saturday against Macalester on the road.  The Gusties shot well in the first half and rode a 6-point lead into the locker room, but Macalester came out hot in the second half and 55 percent from the field and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. Gustavus shot 39.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the free throw line in the second half.

The Gusties were in position to win, as the score was tied at 56 with just three minutes remaining, but the team missed its next five shots while Macalester iced the game going 7 of 9 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes. Rothenbuehler and Molly Geske led the way for Gustavus with 12 points each for Gustavus in the losing effort.

The Gusties followed with a tough road loss on Wednesday to Concordia, who is ranked just behind Gustavus in the MIAC standings. Gustavus fell 56-64 and is the second loss for Gustavus in as many games The Gusties had an early lead, but Concordia fought back and held a two point advantage at halftime and never looked back.

The Gusties pulled within two points with 2:00 min. remaining, but Concorida sealed the win by outscoring Gustavus 6-2 in the last 27 seconds. Senior Molly Geske was the leading scorer for Gustavus finishing with 23 points. The Cobbers shot 48 percent from the field, while the Gusties only made 36.5 percent of their field goals.

The Gustie women will still finish second in the conference standings, which is critical for the conference playoff bracket which Gustavus is guaranteed a first-round bye as well as at least one home playoff game.

The Gusties have one more home game remaining before playoffs. That game is this Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, against St. Olaf, who currently stands at sixth place in the conference at the time of publication. Gustavus will need to bounce back to gain momentum for the playoffs.