EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – No. 11 Gustavus women's basketball opened its season Saturday at the UW-Eau Claire Market & Johnson Blugold Tip-Off Tournament, facing UW-La Crosse (0-1 overall) in its first of four WIAC match-ups to start the year. The Gusties (1-0 overall) claimed win No. 1 of their season, 52-49 over the Eagles, led by the performance of
Emma Kniefel (5th, Medford, Minn.), who scored her 1,000th point in the second quarter.
It took both teams some time to shake off the rust in their season opener, with just two shots made in the game's first four minutes. La Crosse held the Gusties to a pair of free-throws for an early 6-2 lead, but a three-pointer from
Syd Hauger (5th, Springfield, Minn.) caught the Gusties up quickly. Kniefel gave the team its first lead of the game shortly after on a jumper midway through the quarter. Both teams traded the lead twice more before the end of the first frame, with
Rachel Kawiecki (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) putting the Gusties up 13-10 heading into the second.
The Eagles out-scored the Gusties 13-11 in a second quarter that featured four tie scores and four lead changes. UWL took advantage of six Gustie fouls to shoot 6-for-8 from the line. Trailing the Eagles 20-18, Kniefel drew a foul and sunk both of her free throws, the second of which made her the 13th member of the program's 1,000 point club. A lay-up from Hauger gave the Gusties the lead heading at the half, 24-23.
Hauger picked up right where she left off after the break, as the Gustavus offense began to find its groove in the third quarter. The Gusties separated themselves from the Eagles on 8-for-16 shooting, including five points out of the hands of
Kylie Baranick (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) and four more from Kniefel.
Izzy Quick (5th, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) limited the Eagles' offense, collecting four third quarter rebounds.
La Crosse closed the gap in the final 10 minutes, as the Gusties struggled to make shots down the stretch. UWL posted a trio of three-pointers to get within one point of the lead, but four successful free throws and a clutch
Morgan Kelly (Sr., Saint Peter, Minn.) offensive rebound led the Gusties to victory in the game's final seconds.
Kniefel led Gustavus with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting also collecting three rebounds and a pair of steals. Baranick and Kelly added nine points apiece, while Quick led the Gusties' rebounding efforts with 11 off the glass, the fifth game of her career in the double-digits. The Gusties shot 33.3 percent from the field (20-for-60), while the Eagles went 16-for-47 (34 percent), making seven threes compared to three for the Gusties. Gustavus won the rebound battle 42-35 including an 18-10 margin on the offensive end for a 16-9 scoring advantage in second-chance points.
"We're really happy for Emma," said Head Coach
Laurie Kelly following the victory. "While we didn't play to our potential today, we're really happy to pull out the win for her. To have the men's team and fans with signs to honor that accomplishment will surely be a moment she won't forget. We won a tough basketball game today, we played well defensively, and the game was physical. We did a lot of good things, and we have to play games like this to get where we want to go in our season."
The Gusties turn back around to face the tournament host Blugolds (0-1, 0-0 WIAC) Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. in Eau Claire.
