ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Gustavus women’s basketball team traveled to Saint Benedict on Tuesday night for a MIAC matchup and defeated the Bennies 64-47, improving to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Gusties shot 34.9 percent from the field, and held the Bennies to shooting just 25.4.
“It was a great overall game for us, but especially on the defensive end. To hold them to just 47 points, especially on the road and against a quality team like Saint Benedict shows how committed our defense was to staying consistent,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “Morgan Kelly had the best game of her collegiate career, scoring 17 points and made a couple of huge blocks for us when it counted.”
The Gusties led Saint Benedict 38-28 at the half, and took a 20-point lead over the Bennies in the third quarter thanks to a nine-point scoring run at the end of the frame. The Bennies would outscore the Gusties in the fourth quarter, 9-6, but it wouldn’t be enough for the comeback, as the Gusties rolled to the 64-47 victory.
“A big focus for our game today was to come into the third quarter better than we have. We’ve started our first quarters really strong this season, but we seem to get stale in the third. But, to see us extend our third quarter lead to 20 going into the fourth gave us more breathing room and let us use our depth to keep the pace of the game up-tempo.”
Morgan Kelly (So., Saint Peter) led the offense for the Gusties, scoring 17 points. Kelly also posted a team-high four blocks. Emma Kniefel (Jr., Medford) and Anna Sanders (Sr., Vadnais heights) posted ten points each, with Sanders compelted the double-double, posting a total of 12 rebounds on top of her 10 points.
“We did a really good job down the stretch getting defensive stops and keeping them off the offensive glass. Going on the road to Saint Benedict is a tough place to play. We have a history of really battling games up there. To play the way that we did on the defensive end paid off for us in the third and fourth.”
The Gusties return to action this Saturday, taking a trip to Concordia-Moorhead for a 4 p.m. MIAC matchup.