ST. PETER, Minn. – After a sluggish start to Wednesday’s game, the Gustavus women’s basketball turned it on midway through the second quarter, cruising to a 92-49 win over Carleton in its highest scoring output of the season. The Gusties made a season-high 10 three-pointers, shooting 47.6 percent from beyond the arc, thanks in large part to Mikayla Miller’s (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) 6-of-8 shooting from three as she poured in a season-high 30 points.
Carleton came out of the gates strong with an early 7-0 lead after nearly three minutes, but the Gusties were able to go on a 11-2 run and took an 18-13 advantage into the second quarter. The Knights hung around for a majority of the second quarter and trailed by three with 2:51 to play before the home team finished the half on a 10-6 run and led 35-28 at halftime.
“We needed to come out stronger, I just don’t think we were in the right mindset when we stepped on the floor,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “We made some mental mistakes early that we don’t typically make, but credit to Carleton for coming out hard and making some shots early.”
A three-pointer by Miller started the second half scoring and the Gusties continued to increase their lead for the rest of the game. The home team led 64-44 after 30 minutes and its largest lead came at the final buzzer for the 43-point decision. After shooting 41.2 percent (14-34) in the first half, the Gusties shot a blistering 67.7 percent (21-31) in the second half.
Miller shot 11-of-16 from the floor, adding six rebounds and five steals. Miranda Rice (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) also had a big game, scoring 23 points and hauling in 12 rebounds (five offensive) for her second double-double of the season. Justine Lee (Jr., Dawson, Minn.) contributed 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the floor.
The Gusties did well on the glass, out-rebounding the Knights 41-24. The home team also scored 37 points off 25 Carleton turnovers, 20 points of which were on the fast break.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and got back on track to play a very good second half,” Kelly said. “I thought Miller making six three-pointers was key for us because she was really the one pulling us away. We’ll make some adjustments coming out of the gates Saturday and hopefully be better against Hamline.”
Gustavus travels to Hamline for a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup Saturday. A victory would clinch a MIAC-record 18th consecutive conference playoff appearance for the Gusties.