SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team lost 77-55 to No. 3-ranked St. Thomas on Wednesday night at Gus Young Court, dropping to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the MIAC.
The Gusties started the game on the right foot, leading by as many as four points in the first quarter, but the Tommies answered to tie the score 16-16 after 10 minutes and outscored the home team 20-10 in the second quarter to maintain a lead for the rest of the night.
“That first quarter showed that we can play with the best teams in our region, but we need to be able to play more minutes like that,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “We struggled to score and the shot clock had an impact on some forced shots. There were moments that we played really good basketball and we can take those moments to make improvements.”
St. Thomas shot an efficient 66.0 percent from the field and outscored the Gusties 54-30 in the paint. Gustavus was limited to 33.9 percent shooting, including a 3-for-14 mark from three-point range. The Tommies won the rebound battle 27-24 and turned the ball over 17 times compared to 13 by the Gusties.
Four Gusties reached double figure scoring, led by 12 points each from Kendall Thompson (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Ava Gonsorowski (So., Esko, Minn.). Paige Richert (So., Comfrey, Minn.) and Justine Lee (Sr., Dawson, Minn.) contributed 10 points apiece. Richert and Lee led the team in rebounding with five each.
Gustavus returns to the hardwood 1 p.m. Saturday at Carleton.