The Gustavus women’s basketball team picked up its biggest win of the young season by knocking off #24-Wisconsin Eau-Claire 65-60 in the first round of the Surf’n Slam Tourney in San Diego, CA hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University. Gustavus outscored the Blugolds 34-23 in the second-half to overcome a six-point halftime deficit for the victory. Gustavus improved its record to 4-1, while Wisconsin-Eau Claire fell to 8-2.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire held its biggest lead of the first half at 24-16 with 7:31 remaining. Gustavus went on an ensuing 11-5 run to cut the lead to 29-27 with 2:21 left before intermission. The Blugolds went into halftime with a 37-31 lead.
The Gusties used a 9-0 run early in the second half to take its first lead of the game since 16:54 in the first half. Both squads would exchange leads over the next two minutes before Gustavus gained the lead for good with 14:23 on the clock. The Gusties would build a seven-point lead before the Blugolds cut the deficit to two points with 1:08 remaining. Solid free-throw shooting sealed the 65-60 victory for Gustavus as Julia Schultz (So., Marshall, Minn.) went 4-4 from the charity stripe.
Jess Vadnais (Sr., Hudson, Wisc.) scored a game-high 20 points on 50% shooting from the field including 3-4 from behind the three-point line. Katie Layman (So., Hudson, Wisc.) also reached double-digits with 11 points to go along with six rebounds. Molly Mathiowetz (Fy., Sleepy Eye, Minn.) hauled down a game-high nine rebounds off the bench. Wisconsin-Eau Claire had three players reach double-figures, but were not able to overcome 22% three-point shooting.
Gustavus will face #23-Carroll College in the semifinal round of the Surf’n Slam Tourney in San Diego, CA on Friday, December 28 at 4:00 CST.