Maddie Wagner goes up for a layup late in the win at Hamline. (photo courtesy of Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com)
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team continued its offensive prowess Saturday at Hamline, winning in convincing fashion 89-47 to clinch a spot in the MIAC playoffs. The Gusties shot 55 percent from beyond the three-point line and controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Pipers 44-20 to improve to 17-4 overall and 11-3 in the MIAC.
Gustavus made the first five three-point shots it took in the first quarter to establish a 29-12 lead after 10 minutes. Hamline pushed back to get the score to a 10-point difference midway through the second quarter, but the Gusties went on a 13-2 run to close out the half and led 45-24 at the break. The visitors continued to add to their lead in the second half as 15 players saw time on the court.
“Sometimes when you get a big lead early like we did, you can go into cruise control and that’s what happened. We lost our edge in the second quarter,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “We were late on switches on the defensive end, but we ended the half well. We were able to separate ourselves in the second half and any win in this league is a good win. It’s fun to see those freshmen get some minutes under their belts and that also saves the legs of our starters.”
Mikayla Miller (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) led all scorers with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Justine Lee (Jr., Dawson, Minn.) and Kendall Thompson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) also reached double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Miranda Rice (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) led the team on the glass with eight rebounds. As a team, the Gusties shot 49.2 percent from the floor and sunk 11 three-pointers, marking the third-straight game with at least 10 treys made. Gustavus forced 23 turnovers, which generated 28 points.
Gustavus next travels to Macalester for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday.
“Every game at this point of the season is a playoff game,” Kelly said. “These last two weeks are special and you want to be playing your best basketball.”