Brooke Lemke defends a Tommie in Wednesday's 67-45 loss (photo courtesy of Haley Staffon, St. Thomas Sports Information)
St. Thomas 67, Gustavus 45 (Box Score)
St. Paul, Minn.- The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s basketball team was defeated in its 2016 calendar opener against the University of St. Thomas, 67-45 at McCarthy Gym. Gustavus led 29-25 at the half, but St. Thomas outscored the Gusties 42-16 in the second. This loss puts Gustavus at 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the MIAC, while St. Thomas moves ahead to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
“When you play on the road in the MIAC you have to play the full 40 minutes,” said Coach Laurie Kelly. “I’m very proud of how the team played in the first 20 minutes, but in the last 20, we did not live up to the name on the front of the uniform….we were outplayed on both ends of the floor in the second half, which is disappointing.”
The Gusties were led by junior guard Kelsey Carpenter (St. Peter, Minn.) and Mikayla Miller (So., Goodhue, Minn.) who each scored a total of 10 points. Miller also led the team in rebounds with eight.
The two teams concluded the first quarter with the Gusties leading narrowly 9-8, with Gustavus shooting 30 percent and St. Thomas shooting 23 percent. The Gusties’ points came from a three-pointer by Miller, as well as two field goals from Hannah Howard (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) and Brooke Lemke (Fy., Delano, Minn.).
The Black and Gold widened its lead over St. Thomas by four points in the second quarter, and went into halftime ahead 29-25. Gustavus scored 17 of its 29 first half points from the bench.
During the third quarter, St. Thomas went on a 16-0 run over the first 8:07. The Tommies’ streak continued into the final quarter, where they scored 23 points versus the Gusties’ 10, and came away with a 67-45 victory.
The two driving forces in St. Thomas’ comeback, and eventual win, were junior center Kaitlin Langer and senior guard Katie Stone. Langer scored a total of 19 points, while Stone tallied 13. The Gusties had 29 turnovers, versus 14 from St. Thomas, which led to a 23-6 margin in points off of turnovers.
“The stat that stands out to me are the nine assists versus 23 turnovers…you’re not going to win a lot of games that way” said Kelly. “St. Thomas is a great team and a tough place to play, but we need to bounce back, learn from the mistakes we had, and be ready for Saturday.”
The Gusties will be back on the road Saturday at Hamline University, with tip off at 3 p.m.