NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus women's basketball team, which jumped up two spots in the latest D3hoops.com national polling, rolled to an 84-49 victory over Carleton on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Emma Kniefel (5th, Medford, Minn.) posted her second-consecutive 20-point game and fifth of the season, with an 8-for-12 showing (66.7 percent) for 21 points in just 23 minutes. The Gusties (23-1, 16-1 MIAC) shot 45.3 percent (34-for-75) from the field, while limiting Carleton (3-21, 2-15 MIAC) to 17-for-42 (40.5 percent) shooting in the two teams' first meeting of the season and first since Jan. 21, 2023. Head Coach
Laurie Kelly worked 10 additional players into the line-up for a balanced offensive performance down the roster.
Kniefel set the tone early, leading the Gusties to a 12-2 opening run and holding Carleton without a shot made from the floor for the first seven minutes of the game. Kniefel scored nine of the team's first 12, while the Knights converted a pair of free throws to get on the board. Carleton came back with a 7-3 run of their own after a short timeout, holding the Gusties to just one made shot from the floor while closing out the quarter 3-for-3, cutting the Gustie lead to six.
The offense began to hum in the second quarter, erupting for 30 points to just 11 for the Knights. Seven different Gusties contributed to the scoring and a 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) mark from the field, led by Hauger's eight points off 3-for-4 shooting.
Izzy Quick (5th, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) went 3-for-3 in quarter two to lead a squad of five total Gusties who didn't miss a shot in the frame for a 45-20 lead at the half.
Kniefel capped her night with seven more after the break, but the Gusties shot just 4-for-20 (20 percent) in the third quarter, while Carleton went 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) to out-score nationally-ranked Gustavus 14-12.
Kylie Baranick (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) put the team back on track with back-to-back treys, both assisted by Quick to extend the margin to 32 points, 67-35. The Gustie bench scored 17 of the team's final 27 points, led by
Ella Peters (So., River Falls, Wis.),
Rachel Kawiecki (Sr., Richfield, Minn.), and
Bella DeHaan (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) who all scored four in the final 10 minutes. Peters also grabbed five rebounds in just under seven minutes of play, helping the Gusties collect the win, 84-49.
Gustavus finished 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from beyond the arc and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe. The nine made three-pointers were the fourth-most for the team this season, and the most since two weeks ago against Saint Mary's (10 on Feb. 5). The Gusties grabbed 42 rebounds to the Knights' 28, 19 of which came on the offensive end of the court, just one shy of the season-high set at Augsburg on Feb. 1. The team turned the ball over just five times, its best mark of the year, and added 20 assists for the fifth time this season.
Kniefel's 21 led all scorers, while Hauger (16), and Kawiecki (10) also scored in double digits.
Morgan Kelly (Sr., Saint Peter, Minn.) collected nine rebounds, five offensive and five defensive, while Quick collected a game-high four steals. Kawiecki's five assists were the most among either team, while five Gusties dished out at least two.
Knight first-year Addy Huss led her team with 12 points and eight rebounds, but turned the ball over nine times. All of Carleton's top three scorers were first year players, each with seven or more rebounds, while Liesl McCallum blocked a game-high four shots.
The Gusties return home for their final regular season game of the year, hosting St. Catherine (13-10, 8-8 MIAC) for a 3 p.m. tip-off on Senior Day at Gus Young Court.
