St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s basketball team followed up the fall semester with a 71-62 nonconference victory over the University of Northwestern on Saturday afternoon at the Ericksen Center. Trailing by two points at halftime, the Gusties outscored the Eagles by 11 points in the second half to improve to 7-2 overall. Northwestern drops to 4-7 with the loss.
It was a scoring showcase from Gustavus’s first-years as Kesley Carpenter (St. Peter, Minn.), Mikayla Miller (Goodhue, Minn.), and Miranda Rice (Forest Lake, Minn.) led the way with 44 of the team’s points. Carpenter led the way with 18 points after going 6-for-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Miller scored 15 points and went 5-of-13 from the floor, and Miranda Rice contributed a double-double with 11 points (5-12) and 12 rebounds (9 offensive).
Gustavus shot 35.7-percent (22-66) from the field, 50-percent (5-10) from three-point range (5-10), and 75.9-percent (22-29) at the free throw line. Northwestern shot 44.6-percent (25-56) from the field, 23.1-percent (6-26) from three, and 46.2-percent (6-13) at the line.
The Gustie defense shined with 26 forced turnovers throughout the course of the game. Off those turnovers, Gustavus scored 27 points.
Gustavus has won its last three games and will cap the 2014 calendar year with a non-conference game against UW-River Falls on Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m. in River Falls, Wisconsin.