ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team forced 29 turnovers and shot 44 percent from the field en route to a 67-30 victory over Viterbo University to conclude the Gustavus Classic Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court.
After week one of the 2016-17 campaign, the Gusties own a 3-0 record and have outscored opponents by at least 30 in each game.
“I think the one thing that I took away from the three games is defensively, we continued to be real strong,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “That’s been a focus going into the preseason and and the players have really bought in to making defense a priority. We were fortunate to be able to get a significant lead in each of our games and try some different things and different lineups. I thought it was a good way to evaluate where we’re at.”
The Gusties have posted at least 20 steals in each game, registering 20 Saturday against the V-Hawks. Gustavus then was also able to cash in off Viterbo mistakes as they recorded 16 fast break points.
“It goes back to our defense, we turned them over 29 times and was able to get advantages on the other side of the floor,” Kelly commented. “I think it takes a lot of pressure of your offense if you can get some advantages on a primary.”
Similar to its previous games, an early lead proved to be vital for Gustavus. The Black and Gold went on an 11-0 run to start the game, disallowing a Viterbo point throughout the first five minutes of the first quarter. Following quarter one, the Gusties owned a 24-8 advantage as they shot 50 percent from the field. Captain Hannah Howard (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) led the charge early on as she had nine points and was 4-4 from the field after one quarter of play.
Gustavus kept the ball rolling into the second quarter, eventually extending its lead to 24 near the end of the half as Howard put in a layup with under a minute remaining. Howard ended the first half with 13 points and shot 6-7 from the field. As a team the Gusties finished the first half shooting 44 percent and led Viterbo, 37-13.
A 42-point was established as the largest lead of the game, three times in the final quarter. A jumper by Brooke Lemke (So., Delano, Minn.) pushed the lead to 65-23 with six minutes remaining in the game. Lemke finished with a season-best 12 points, finishing behind Howard who led the Gusties with 15 total points. Howard’s 15 points is a season-best and stands as her best performance since establishing a career-best 19 points her sophomore season.
“For us, each time we step on the floor its a chance to get better. I thought this was a great week to start out and it kind of got us some momentum going,” said Kelly.
The Gusties return to action for their first road test next Tuesday as they head over to La Crosse, Wis., taking on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at 7 p.m.