ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team had a tough time finding the bottom of the net Wednesday, losing 61-45 at league-leading St. Thomas. The Gusties shot 29.1 percent from the floor and had just six players on the scoresheet as they drop to 14-4 overall and 8-3 in the MIAC.
“This game exposed a lot of weaknesses for us and that shows against strong opponents,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “They make it a difficult defensive matchup for us. But I thought we slowed their tempo down and did some things well on the defensive side of the ball. We just didn’t shoot with confidence.”
St. Thomas scored the first points of the game and never trailed. Gustavus was able to tie the game 18-18 to start the second frame, but the home team ended the half on a 9-2 run and carried a 32-23 advantage into the locker room.
The two teams traded buckets to start the second half going back-and-forth between a seven- and nine-point difference before the Tommies made it a double-digit spread for good with 4:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Gustavus’s one advantage was on the glass as it out-rebounded the Tommies 35-33. Miranda Rice (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) and Mikayla Miller (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) led the Gusties with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Miller also hauled in nine rebounds and had five assists.
“Every game counts the same in the book,” Kelly said. “We still have a lot to fight for and a lot of games left to play. We just need to move forward and play better on Saturday.”
Gustavus travels to St. Olaf on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff.