SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus women's basketball team dominated the court against Saint Mary's Wednesday night, rolling past the Cardinals 70-36. The win improves the Gusties' record to 22-2 overall and 18-1 in league play, while SMU ended its season at Gus Young Court Wednesday night with a record of 2-22 overall and 0-19 in the MIAC.
A relatively slow start for the Gusties kept the Cardinals in the game in the opening five minutes, but stout defense and eight points out of the hands of
Emma Kniefel helped the team build the lead to double digits, and they never looked back. The Gusties got 19 points off turnovers in the half, building their lead to as many as 23 points, including the 42-19 score heading into the break.
The Cardinals entered the third quarter on a mission to make a splash in Saint Peter, opening with an eight point scoring run out of the locker room. Unfazed, the Gusties responded with a 14-4 run of their own, getting points from six different players to build lead back to 20 points entering the final frame. Coach
Laurie Kelly was able to spread out the scoring in the fourth quarter, clearing her bench once more this season to end the game 70-36.
The Gusties shot 27-for-59 from the floor, and held the Cardinals to a mark of just 30.4 percent on 14-of-46 shooting. Gustavus scored nearly as many points as the Cardinals just on turnovers, totaling 35 in the game, and got 28 points off the bench in the victory.
Emma Kniefel and
Rachel Kawiecki led the Gustie offense, with Kniefel finishing with the team lead of 13 points and Kawiecki grabbing 11 of her own. A total of 12 different Gusties got on the scoresheet Wednesday night, with an even spread of rebounding as well, led by
Kendyl Queensland and
Morgan Kelly who each pulled down five boards.
The Gusties have one final regular season game ahead of them, hosting Hamline at Gus Young Court on Saturday at 1 p.m. A win would clinch the second consecutive MIAC Regular Season Championship for Coach Kelly's team.
