ST. PETER, Minn. – The No. 19/22-ranked Gustavus women’s basketball team took down Saint Mary’s University by a score of 71-44 Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court to remain undefeated, improving its record to 19-0 overall and 12-0 in MIAC play.
Ten Gusties found their way into the scoring column with Miranda Rice (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) and Brooke Lemke (So., Delano, Minn.) leading the way with double figures each. Rice shot 8-for-15 from the field and picked up eight rebounds to lead the Gusties while Lemke went 7-for-11 from the field for a 17-point performance.
The home team used strong defense and capitalized on Saint Mary’s mistakes to hold the advantage for 40 minutes. Gustavus outscored the Cardinals in points off turnovers, 36-8, and fast break points, 14-2.
“Defense was the key to our success today,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “We got in passing lanes and were able to score in transition which allowed us to push the tempo. I think our depth really showed in a positive way for us today.”
Brooke Lemke’s 17 points sets a career-high, breaking her previous career-best 16-point performance set this season at Bethel.
“It’s hard to defend a team when there are a lot of people to stop,” Kelly commented. “It was great to see Brooke break out and have such a great offensive and defensive performance. The great thing about our team is that we have the depth and the ability to step up when players are down. Brooke stepped up today and you need that in a long season.”
A strong second and third quarter in which the Gusties allowed just 13 Saint Mary’s points catapulted the home team to a 62-29 lead going into the final frame. A three-pointer by Tierney Winter (Fy., Waterville, Minn.) at the 4:04 mark gave Gustavus its largest lead of the game at 37 points, allowing the home team to cruise toward its program record win streak, now at 19 games.
“Defense has been a big focus for us lately because our defense does lead into our offense. That gave us such great confidence,” Lemke said about the second and third quarter performance. “As a team, we live and die off defense and we love it. I think we played well as a team and we did what we needed to do.”
Next week the Black and Gold host the No. 3/4-ranked University of St. Thomas for a showdown of two undefeated teams. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Gus Young Court.
“It’s a big game for us, you can’t talk it down,” Kelly spoke about next week’s game against St. Thomas. “But at the same time, there are six other games to play after that one. Our approach and preparation is going to be just the way it has been for every game up until this point. It will come down to which team shows up for 40 minutes on Wednesday.”