St. Peter, Minn. – Deadlocked in third place in the conference standings with this afternoon’s opponent and beginning on a three-game homestand to cap off the regular season, the Gustavus Adolphus women’s basketball team rose to the occasion against Saint Mary’s on Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court. Gustavus jumped out to a 42-22 halftime lead and didn’t look back from there, shooting over 50-percent from the field en route to a 75-47 victory.
“We did exactly what we needed to do this afternoon and played like a team who can compete for an MIAC Championship,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “For 40 minutes we played aggressive, poised, team basketball on both ends of the floor. It was the best game we’ve played all year and you couldn’t ask for it to come at a better time in the season.”
Gustavus secures a lone third standing position in the conference standings at 16-7 overall and 10-6 in the MIAC after today’s win. Saint Mary’s drops into a tie for fourth place alongside Concordia at 15-8 overall and 9-7 in the MIAC.
With an 8-6 lead five minutes into the game, the Gusties went on a 12-4 scoring-run that put them up 20-10 with 11:32 on the clock. Although Saint Mary’s battled back to cut the gap to four points (22-18) by the 7:48 mark, Gustavus responded with a 15-2 run that pushed its lead 37-20 with 1:53 left to play in the half. Thanks to a Kelsey Carpenter (So., St. Peter, Minn.) three-pointer and a Lindsey Johnson (Jr., Edina, Minn.) jumper on their final two possessions of the half, the Gusties were able to take a 42-22 advantage into the locker room.
Gustavus shot 51.4-percent from the field and held Saint Mary’s to 34.8-percent shooting in the opening half. Mikayla Miller (Fy., Goodhue, Minn.) and Johnson led the way with 11 and nine first half points, respectively.
The Gusties rode the momentum into the second half where they pushed their lead to 27 points (51-24) with 15:41 on the clock. Gustavus didn’t let up from that point on and led by as many as 33 points (71-38) with 5:01 to play.
“We established ourselves early in the game and were able to keep our foot on the gas pedal throughout the remainder, which is something we’ve failed to do at times this season,” commented Kelly. “Despite a short stretch where we lost our focus early on, I thought we were locked in both mentally and physically.”
Miller led the way in the second half with nine points after going 3-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range. She finished the afternoon with a game-high 20 points after going 8-for-13 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from three.
Miller’s 20 points were complimented by a 13-point outing by Lindsey Johnson and a 10-point showing by Stephanie Klockmann (Fy., Brownton, Minn.). Johnson finished 6-for-11 from the floor with five rebounds, while Klockmann went 5-for-7 with sixth boards.
“Our ball movement and shot selection were both great, and Mikayla and Lindsey played such calm and collected games within our scheme,” said Kelly about her two leading scorers. “Against a team like Saint Mary’s that plays aggressive man-to-man defense, we were poised, moved with a purpose, and executed.”
Gustavus finished the game 31-for-61 (50.8%) from the field, 6-for-10 (60%) from three, and 7-for-9 (77.8-%) at the line. The Gusties won the turnover battle 18-to-10 and controlled the glass 36-to-27.
Saint Mary’s went 18-for-48 (37.5%) from the floor, 3-for-14 (21.4%) from three, and 8-for-12 (66.7%) at the line. Leading the Cardinal offense was Micaela Meredith and Alexa Huisman who both finished with eight.
“From a fundamental level, this was our best game of the year,” Kelly concluded. “More than anything, this game fills us with a ton of confidence as we try to finish the regular season on a strong at Gus Young Court.”
The Gustavus women’s basketball team will be back on the hardwood Wednesday, Feb. 18 when it hosts Macalester College at 7:00 p.m.