NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team registered its highest offensive output this season in a 99-45 victory at Carleton College Saturday afternoon.
Gustavus pushes its winning streak to 15 to as they remain unbeaten with a 15-0 overall record (8-0 MIAC). The 99 points for the Gusties marks the highest point total since the Black and Gold notched 106 at Buena Vista University last season.
An efficient offense led to the Gusties recording its highest team field goals made and field goal shooting percentage as Gustavus went 38-65 from the field, 58.5 percent. The high-scoring game can also be credited to the total team effort as 12 Gusties found their way into the scoring column. Gustavus outscored Carleton in bench points, 49-8.
Four Gusties totaled double-digit points with Mikayla Miller (Jr., Goodhue, Minn.) leading the way with 22. Miller was efficient from the field as she shot at a 75 percent mark (9-12) and also nailed four three-pointers. Miranda Rice (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) went 7-9 from the field to total 17 points, 16 coming in the first half. Brooke Lemke (So., Delano, Minn.) was also a consistent shooter as she shot 6-8 from the field and was a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc to tally a career-high 16 points and added a career-best five steals. Kelsey Carpenter (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) also added 10 points while notching a career-high seven rebounds.
“The areas that we wanted to focus on, we did well in,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “We talked about rebounding and that was a huge focus for us going into the game. To see us outrebound by 23 was really good. We had good balanced scoring, we had good bench production from Emee Udo (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.) and Brooke Lemke gave us great minutes off the bench.”
For the 14th time this season, Gustavus got on the board first as Miranda Rice nailed a jumper 21 seconds into the game. After an even first quarter left the score at 17-15 in the Gusties’ favor, they ran away in the second, eventually gaining a 19-point lead over the Knights and taking a 43-28 lead into halftime. The Gusties shot 61.8 percent in the second half to keep the game out of reach.
“I thought the first quarter we seemed lethargic and didn’t have a lot of energy,” said Kelly. “Defensively, we came out really strong in the third quarter. Second quarter, it was great to see our offense get going and then third and fourth quarter we were strong on the defensive end.”
Gustavus outrebounded the Knights by a mark of of 43-20 while also outscoring the Knights in points in the paint, 50-20.
“It was a good win,” Kelly commented. “We have been on the road in seven of our last nine games and we have been road warriors. An opportunity to come back home now next week is always great. To come to anybody’s gym floor and leave with a win in in the league is always positive.”
Next week, Gustavus hosts St. Catherine University Wednesday evening. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Gus Young Court.