Macalester's first appearance on its home court in a month was spoiled by Gustavus, which shot 56% to beat the Scots 66-56. The Gusties claim their eighth game in a row and stay tied on top of the MIAC standings.
Gustavus led 33-27 at halftime and by six points again at 37-31 before starting a 21-7 run to go up by 20 at 58-38 with 12:16 to go in the game. The Scots quickly cut the margin to 11 points at 60-49 with 7:31 left on the clock by finishing off an 11-1 rally. However, they could not maintain their comeback as the Gusties held on.
Veronika Jakubovie (Jr., Maple Plain, Minn.) just missed out on a double-double, providing the Scots with 18 points and nine rebounds. Her five offensive boards helped the Scots earn a 15-6 advantage on the offensive glass and 14-2 margin in second chance points.
Kyanna Jones (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) finished with 10 points, three assists and three steals. Taylor Pike (Jr., Ashland, Neb. / Ashland-Greenwood) scored eight points and Annie Drabot (So., Cedarburg, Wis.) scored six. Erin Murray (Fy., Sparta, Wis.) handed out four assists.
Four Gusties scored in double figures, led by Kelsey Florian with 15 points. Julia Dysthe contributed 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Abby Rothenbuehler added 12 points, six boards and four assists. Gustavus improves to 9-2 on the season and 8-0 in the MIAC going into Wednesday's showdown with co-leading St. Thomas in St. Peter.
The Scots, now 4-7 on the season and 3-5 in the MIAC, play Wednesday (Jan. 9) at St. Mary's.