MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The No. 25-ranked Gustavus women’s basketball team got back to its winning ways Wednesday evening, defeating Augsburg 84-58 to improve to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in the MIAC.
“We shot the ball very well and I thought that was one the best games we’ve played this year,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “It was great balanced scoring. We set the tone right away in the first quarter and it was a fun game for us to get back on track after a tough loss to Bethel where we weren’t playing our best basketball. Rebounding was a factor tonight, so it’s great to see us doing well in the glass. Overall I was really pleased with our performance tonight.”
A strong first quarter set the pace for the Gusties as they jumped out to a 23-8 lead. The visitors continued to add to their advantage in the second frame and went into halftime with a 45-23 lead. Gustavus shot a red-hot 65.4 percent (17-26) in the first 20 minutes, while limiting the Auggies to 25.9 percent from the field.
The Black and Gold held at least a 20-point lead throughout the entire second half, with its largest spread at 81-50 with 6:14 left in the game. Gustavus did half of its damage from close range, outscoring the Auggies 42-18 in the paint. The Gusties also won the rebounding battle 43-26 and distributed 26 assists, both season highs.
Kendall Thompson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. She also hauled in a team-high eight rebounds along with Miranda Rice (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.), who scored 18 points. Mikayla Miller (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) and Justine Lee (Jr., Dawson, Minn.) also reached double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively. The Gusties finished the game shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and were 15-of-19 from the free throw line.
Gustavus next hosts St. Catherine at 3 p.m. Saturday.