The Gustavus women’s basketball team came out firing on Saturday afternoon in an 86-52 win over Augsburg. Gustavus made its first five shots of the game and never cooled off as the team shot a season-high 54% from the field on 33-61 shooting and 70% from behind the three-point arc. The Auggies, in the midst of a four-game skid, struggled from the floor as they were held to 31% shooting and committed 28 turnovers in the contest. The Gusties have won five straight on the way to an overall record of 10-6 and 9-4 in the MIAC as Augsburg fell to 5-11 overall and 3-10 in the MIAC.
Gustavus jumped out to a 12-5 lead after making the first five shots of the game, including two three-pointers by Jess Vadnais. The Gusties used lay-ups by Bri Radtke, Molly Mathiowetz, and Julia Schultz and a three-pointer by Vadnais went to extend their lead to 32-18 with 5:45 left in the half. A Michelle Richter jump shot and Brietta Schleunder lay-up cut the Gustavus lead to 40-30 when both teams went into the locker room. Gustavus shot 58% during the half, but committed 13 turnovers.
The Gusties picked up where they left off in the first half with an 18-5 run to build a 58-37 lead with 13:49 on the clock after the Gustavus full-court pressure helped create offensive opportunities. Augsburg tried to get back into the contest, but had difficulty getting into an offensive flow as the Auggies committed 16 turnovers and hit six field goals in the second half. Gustavus would see its lead grow to 36 points en route to the 86-52 victory. The offensive output was the highest total since the Gusties scored 90 points in a 90-76 win against Bethel on February 7, 2005.
Jess Vadnais led all scorers with 25 points on 8-10 shooting in 26 minutes. Three other Gusties recorded 10 points, including Bri Radtke, Katie Layman, and Molly Mathiowetz. Gustavus hit a season-high seven three-pointers as twelve players scored for Gustavus in the win. Katie LaGrave paced Augsburg with 15 points, while Michelle Richter contributed 11 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort.
Gustavus will return to MIAC action on Wednesday night when the Gusties host Bethel at Gus Young Court at 7:30 p.m. Augsburg travels to St. Catherine to face the Wildcats on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.