ST. PAUL, MINN. – It's already been a historic season for the St. Catherine University basketball team. On Wednesday, the Wildcats will see if they can make just little more history by beating the No. 13 Gustavus Adolphus College in the final home game of the 2016-17 regular season.
St. Kate's and Gustavus already met once before this season back in January. The Wildcats nearly upset the then No. 24 ranked Gusties, but costly turnovers in the final quarter led to a 61-56 Gustavus win. Since then, the Wildcats have compiled a 5-2 record in seven games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents. The team's only losses in that stretch have been to the College of Saint Benedict (50-47) and the University of St. Thomas (62-53).
Live stats and
video will be available for fans who can't attend tonight's game in person. Score updates will also be made on St. Kate's official Twitter account (@stkateswildcats).
Here are the five things to know before tip off between the Wildcats and Gusties:
3 – Three of the top five scorers in the MIAC play for either Gustavus or St. Kate's. The Gusties' Mikayla Miller and Miranda Rice rank No. 2 and 3 in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.7 and 16.5 points per game respectively, while Wildcat junior
Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) is fifth in the MIAC in the same category. Clark is currently averaging 15.3 points per game overall with a 16.1 average against conference opponents.
2, 5 – Both St. Kate's and Gustavus have already clinched a spot in the MIAC playoffs. The Gusties are currently No. 2 in the conference standings with a 15-1 record in MIAC play, while the Wildcats are tied for fourth with a 9-7 conference record.
2 – St. Kate's enters Wednesday night's game against Gustavus with a two game win streak and holds a 3-1 record in the month of February. The Wildcats have also won their last two games by three points or less, having beat Concordia College 63-61 last Wednesday and Saint Mary's University 55-52 on Saturday.
14 – St. Kate's dramatic 55-52 win over the Cardinals was one of the greatest comebacks of the season. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 14 points during the game and only managed to score six points in the third quarter. However, a huge fourth quarter from senior
LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Humboldt) and clutch free throw shooting allowed St. Kate's to outscore the Cardinals 21-10 in the final quarter, resulting in the 55-52 victory.
15 – With Saturday's win over Saint Mary's, the Wildcats matched the program record for most wins in a single season (since joining the MIAC) at 15. The team also set the program record for MIAC wins in a season (9) and achieved back-to-back winning seasons for the first times since the late 1970s.
Bonus numbers:
7 – St. Kate's currently has a 7-2 record at home, the team's best record in the
Butler Center in head coach
Sean Pinkerton's tenure.
50 – Gustavus is one of the top offensive teams in Division III this season, as the team ranks in the top-50 in multiple statistical categories. The Gusties ranked fourth in field goal percentage (46.6), second in free throw percentage (78.5) and seventh in assists per game (18.0).