ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team wrapped up a six-game home stand Friday evening with a convincing 79-45 win over Coe College in non-conference action. The win moves the Gusties to 8-1 overall while Coe drops to 3-8.
“It was nice that we got a big lead early and to hold them to 45 points, which is almost 20 points below their average,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “I was really happy with our defensive effort. We needed to play well going into the holiday break and when we come back we’ll be playing against some very competitive teams at the Wartburg tourney.”
In tonight’s matchup the Kohawks made the first basket of the game but that would be their last lead of the night as the Gusties scored seven unanswered and controlled the pace of play the rest of the game. The Gusties led 16-10 after the first quarter and turned it on in the second, outscoring the Kohawks 30-11 for a 46-21 advantage at halftime. Gustavus held at least a 20-plus-point lead throughout the second half and Coach Kelly was able to get all 16 players in the game.
The home team shot 48.3 percent from the floor and was 9-22 from three-point range. The Gusties also out-rebounded the Kohawks 34-24 and forced 23 turnovers, leading to a 30-6 advantage in points off the takeaway.
Mikayla Miller (Sr., Goodhue, Minn.) led the Gusties with 19 points, making five three-pointers. Miranda Rice (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.), Kendall Thompson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), and Ava Gonsorowski (Fy., Esko, Minn.) each contributed double figures with 14, 13, and 10 points, respectively.
The Gusties return to action next Friday against No. 11 UW-Whitewater at the Wartburg Invitational. Tipoff against the undefeated (9-0) Warhawks is 4 p.m.
“We set our schedule this year knowing that we had an NCAA tournament returning team with a lot of veterans and we wanted to put ourselves in games with NCAA-caliber teams,” Kelly said. “It’s going to be a challenge but we’re excited about it.”