Braun Leads Gophers Over Drake in 2OT Thriller

It would take overtime, two overtimes to be exact to get the Gophers a win over Drake 94-88 on Saturday.  Drake led by six points at halftime and would increase the lead to ten, 67-57, in the fourth quarter before the U would rally to tie the game and force overtime. Mara Braun led the Gophers with 33 points, including 14 in overtime. She played the entire 50 minutes of the game and had zero turnovers in the game.  Braun is the third player in school history to play the entire 50 minutes of a game.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

--The College of St. Benedict got out to an early lead and never looked back as they took down Hamline 77-64 on Saturday. The Bennies’ were led by Lydia Hay who had a career-best 17 points in the game. Sophia Jonas chipped in 15 and Kira Young had 12 points for St. Ben’s in the win. They improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

--St. Cloud State University completed the weekend sweep in conference play by taking down Minot State University 75-54. The Huskies shot 50% from the field and were led by Jada Eggebrecht’s 19 points. Ashley Sawicki had a double-double as well 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win too. St. Cloud is now 18-5 all-time against Minot State.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

-- The University of St. John’s clobbered Hamline Saturday 80-60 in a MIAC matchup. The Johnnies jumped out to a 19-2 lead to start the game and never looked back. Kooper Vaughn’s 17 points led them, and Blake Berg had 13 points, Chris Mitchell 11 points, and Ryan Thissen’s 10. The win was the fourth straight for the team, who improved to 3-0 in conference play and 4-2 overall.

-- The Huskies hung with Minot State for the first half taking a one-point lead into halftime. However, the Beavers used a 49 points second half to pull away and win 85-70. SCSU was led by Anish Ramlall's 16 points and Lucas Morgan’s 14 points. Luke Taylor chipped in 13 points, and Andre Renta had 8 points as well. The Huskies will take on Northern State University and Minnesota State University-Moorhead on the road next weekend.

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

-- The University of Minnesota saw Penn State bounce back and beat them 6-3 Saturday. The Gophers got goals from Rhett Pitlick, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Bryce Brodzinski in the loss. Pitlick extended his scoring streak to six games. The team travels to Ohio State next week for a series on Friday and Saturday.

-- The University of St. John’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Bethel Saturday, only to see Bethel score four unanswered goals and lose 4-2. Matt DeRosa scored both goals for the Johnnies in the loss. The loss drops the team to 3-7-1 overall, and 1-5 in conference play.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

-- The seven-goal victory on Friday wasn’t enough for the University of Minnesota as they came back Saturday to beat Bemidji State by eight goals, 9-1, on Saturday.  The Gophers scored nine straight goals before the Beavers got their lone goal at 14:44 in the third period. Abbey Murphy and Peyton Hemp had two goals apiece to lead the Gophers.  Next up is St. Cloud State University on Tuesday.

--The Bennies lost a heartbreaker Saturday when Bethel scored the winning goal in the final minute of regulation to get the 3-2 win. St. Ben’s was down 2-0 before Chloe Lewis and Aurora Opsahl scored in the third period to tie the game. Abbie Delong netted the game-winner for Bethal at 18:58 in the third period. The Bennies’ are now 4-3-1 on the season.

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JUNIOR HOCKEY

--The St. Cloud Norsemen didn’t fair much better against Bismarck on Saturday. The Bobcats beat them up for a 9-2 win and got the weekend sweep as well. The Norsemen will take on the Aberdeen Wings for two home games next weekend.

-- The Granite City Lumberjacks didn’t have any problems with the Willmar Warhawks on Saturday defeating them 7-2.  The Lumberjacks will do a home-and-home series with the Rochester Grizzlies next weekend.

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