Mikayla Miller Leads The Way With 30, Women’s Basketball Defeats Martin Luther 74-58

St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s basketball team capped the 2014 Tip Off Classic with a 74-58 win Martin Luther College on Sunday afternoon at Gus Young Court. Thanks in large part to the offensive effort of rookie guard Mikayla Miller (Fy., Goodhue, Minn.), the Gusties begin their 2014-15 season 2-0 after today’s win and yesterday’s victory over Crown.

Following a 17-point performance in her collegiate debut on Saturday against Crown, Miller followed up with one of the best scoring performances by a Gustavus player in the history of the program. She scored 30 points after going 9-for-22 from the field with the majority of her damage coming at the free throw line where she went 12-for-12. To go along with her offensive performance, the rookie was also just one rebound away from a double-double with nine boards (4 off., 5 def.).

“We knew Mikayla would be an impact player, so it’s great to see her get off to a fast start,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly.  “She has a great scorer’s mentality and we feel that she will be a significant contributor throughout the year.  She still has a lot to learn and a lot of growing up to do, but it was fun to see her go out and put up such big numbers early on.”

In Gustavus women’s basketball history, the 30-point single-game mark had been reached a total of 13 times by seven different players prior to this afternoon. Miller becomes the eighth player to do so with an effort that ranks 11th all-time. She is the first to score 30 points since Bri Monahan dropped 32 against St. Olaf on Jan. 11, 2006.

For the second straight outing, Gustavus jumped out to a fast start. The Gusties led 16-6 and then 22-6 at the halfway point of the first half. The Knights brought the score to within 12 points on several occasions later in the half yet could not close the gap any further for the remainder of the half.

The Gusties shot 38.5-percent from the field en route to a 38-24 halftime lead. Martin Luther shot 34.8-percent yet committed 13 turnovers and were losing the battle on the glass by a 27-17 margin.

Although Gustavus opened up 19 point advantage (48-29) by the 16:20 mark, Martin Luther played a much-improved second half and was able to stick around and chip away at the lead. By the 6:11 mark, the Knights had cut the gap to single digits down 60-51. The Gusties responded with a 12-1 scoring-run over the next five minutes to run away with the game and take a 72-52 lead with 1:32 to play.

After shooting 54.2-percent in the second half, Gustavus finished the game 44.4-percent (28-63) from the field. The Gusties went 18-for-20 at the free throw line and dominated the glass 43-to-31.

Miranda Rice (Fy., Forest Lake, Minn.) also reached double-figures with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Hannah Howard (So., St. Pau, Minn.) finished with nine points and six rebounds, while Lindsey Johnson (Jr., Edina, Minn.) scored eight points and brought down eight rebounds.

The Gustavus women’s basketball team will be in action next on Saturday, Nov. 22 when it hosts the University of Minnesota, Morris in a non-conference tilt at 1:00 p.m. at Gus Young Court.

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