Menomonie, Wis. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s basketball team concluded the UW-Stout Thanksgiving Shootout with a 71-58 win over the College of St. Scholastica on Sunday afternoon at the Johnson Fieldhouse. Holding a two point lead with 9:52 left in the game, the Gusties surged forward in the final stages. Over the course of the next six minutes, they used an 8-0 scoring-run on the way to grabbing 62-50 advantage by the 3:59 mark. The late push turned out to be the difference as Gustavus improved to 4-1 with the win. St. Scholastica is now 0-4 with the loss.
Less than 24 hours after a 78-76 loss to the University of Dubuque to open the weekend, the Gusties wasted no time and got back on track this afternoon. Gustavus jumped out to a 19-9 lead by the 11:13 mark and eventually led by as many as 17 points with 4:27 remaining in the opening half. St. Scholastica finished the half strong, however, and used a 7-0 run to cut the margin to ten points (31-21) at the break.
Although the Gusties held the upper hand on the scoreboard throughout the entirety of the second half, the Saints stuck around and kept the score within six points for the opening ten minutes of the frame. A pair of free throws by Holly Peterson cut the Gustavus lead to 45-43 at the 9:52 mark – the closest the Saints would come for the remaining minutes of the game. The Gusties responded to St. Scholastica’s threat to its lead with an 8-0 scoring-run that put them up 53-45 (7:35). St. Scholastica could not recover from the point swing, and Gustavus pressed ahead to a 69-53 lead with 1:14 on the clock.
Rookie guard Mikayla Miller (Goodhue, Minn.) once again led the Gustie offense and scored over 20 points for the second time in as many days. Miller finished with a game-high 23 points after going 8-for-17 from the field, 4-for-10 from three-point range, and 3-for-3 at the free throw line. She was also the team’s top rebounder with nine boards (8 def.).
Also finishing in double-figures was Maddie Ehrich (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Lindsey Johnson (Jr., Edina, Minn.). Ehrich scored 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and also brought down seven rebounds (4 def.). Johnson went 4-for-8 from the floor for 10 points.
The Gusties finished the game 48.1-percent (25-52) from the field, 35.7-percent (5-14) from three, and 80-percent (16-20) at the line. St. Scholastica was 35.7-percent (20-56) from the floor, 31.3-percent (5-16) from three, and 86.7-percent (13-15) at the line. The Gusties nearly doubled the Saints’ rebounding total 42-24.
With its early-season non-conference schedule now in the books, the Gusties will embark on MIAC play this week when it travels to St. Paul to face the University of St. Thomas at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3.