ST. PETER, Minn. – The No. 17 ranked Gustavus women’s basketball team was led a 25-point performance from Miranda Rice (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) and a double-double from Hannah Howard (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) as Head Coach Laurie Kelly captured her 300th all-time win in her 19th season as a head coach, her fifth at Gustavus.
The Gusties defeated Hamline University 106-63 Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court to improve their record to 20-1 overall and 13-1 MIAC. The home team outscored the Pipers by a margin of 40-3 in points off turnovers and out-rebounded Hamline by a clip of 46-25.
Kelly reflected on her 300th career win saying, “It makes me reflect on how fortunate I’ve been over the last 19 years,” said Kelly. “It makes me think all the way back to the very first team I ever coached and the very first win I ever got. It is the same journey through all these teams and young women that have been such a positive influence in my life. It is something that we all accomplished together. If you do it long enough, milestones like this will come, but more than anything it makes me reflect on how fortunate I feel to have had the opportunity to coach at such wonderful institutions, have great staffs, and be around quality student-athletes.”
The Gusties jumped out to a 29-14 lead in the first 10 minutes after shooting 10-for-16 from the field and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. After one half, Gustavus led Hamline by a margin of 54-31. The Gusties shot 16-for-31 from the field and 5-for-12 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. The home team claimed its largest first half lead in the final minute of the second quarter from two Kelsey Carpenter (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) free throws, pushing to score to 54-29. Miranda Rice led all Gusties scorers with 14 points as they took a 54-31 lead into halftime.
“The first half was different than the second half for us, particularly defensively. I wasn’t happy at halftime and I don’t think the team was either. Every opportunity you have to play against somebody else is an opportunity to get more and more prepared as you head into the end of the season. You want to be playing your best basketball this time of year, so each individual has to step up their game and hopefully that will elevate us to the next level,” said Kelly.
Gustavus kept the foot on the gas in the second half, eventually pushing the lead into the 40’s in the final 10 minutes when a Mikayla Miller (Jr., Goodhue, Minn.) layup put the lead at 89-48 with 6:39 remaining in the final frame. Miller tallied 18 points as the second-leading scorer for the Gusties. Rice led the Gusties with 25 points in game, going 9-for-12 from the field while Howard recorded her second-straight double-double and third of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Gusties also saw all but two players contribute in the scoring column.
“We’re trying to prepare to do something special this season,” Kelly commented. “It doesn’t matter who we’re going to play, we are going to focus on Gustavus basketball.”
Up next, Gustavus prepares for a three-game road stretch as they head to Northfield, Minn. next Wednesday to take on St. Olaf College. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center.