ST. PETER, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team held the lead after the first quarter before seventh-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College seized control in the middle two quarters to deal the Oles a 69-46 defeat on Wednesday night at Gus Young Court.
St. Olaf (5-4, 0-3 MIAC) led for almost the entirety of the opening quarter and was up 16-12 after 10 minutes before Gustavus (8-0, 3-0 MIAC) outscored the Oles by a 45-16 margin over the second and third quarters to remain unbeaten. The Gusties were ranked No. 7 in the country this week by both D3hoops.com and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
Sophomore
Chloee Smith was the lone double-figure scorer for St. Olaf in the loss, recording 14 points and six rebounds on the night. Senior
Paige Yagodinski added nine points and seven rebounds for the Oles, who shot 31.9 percent (15-for-47) from the field.
Emma Kniefel led three Gusties in double digits with a game-high 15 points, while Kylie Baranick was 4-for-4 from behind the arc on a 14-point evening. Rachel Kawiecki registered 10 points as well for Gustavus, which shot 42.9 percent (30-for-70) overall and used its full-court press to turn 25 St. Olaf turnovers into 24 points.
Led by seven early points from Yagodinski, St. Olaf led for 8:27 and trailed for just 20 seconds in the opening quarter. The Oles got out to a 5-0 lead while holding the Gusties scoreless for the first 3:36 and led by as many as 16-8 late in the quarter after a 7-0 run. Gustavus scored the final four points of the quarter to cut its deficit to 16-12 heading into the second.
The Gustavus press forced 10 turnovers in the second quarter, as the Gusties opened up a 31-21 halftime lead after outscoring the Oles by a 19-5 margin in the second. Baranick and Kawiecki combined for 17 of the Gusties' 19 points in the quarter, with Baranick going 3-for-3 from three-point range.
St. Olaf got its deficit down to single digits twice early in the third quarter on a layup by Yagodinski and a three-pointer by Smith but could not get any close than eight. Gustavus led by as many as 30 midway through the fourth, although the Oles won the fourth quarter by a 14-12 margin.
With the 2024 portion of its schedule complete, St. Olaf will be back in action on New Year's Day with a 3 p.m. tip-off at home against Martin Luther College.
