WHITEWATER, Wis. - The Gustavus women's basketball team ended their season on Friday night, losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to the University of Chicago, 60-44.
The first quarter was not nice to the Gusties, who did not find a make from the field in the quarter. The Maroons used small 6-0, 5-0, and 6-0 runs to overtake the Gusties in the quarter and never looked back. Gustavus used six free throws to get on the board in the first frame, trailing 17-6 after 10 minutes.
After an early jumper by UChicago, the Gusties went on a 10-2 run, including six points by sophomore
Bella DeHaan (Lakeville, Minn.) to cut the lead down to five. The Maroons responded right back, going on a 7-0 run to bring them their largest lead of the game to that point. Gustavus went 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from the field in the second quarter and held the University of Chicago to a 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) clip, but could not find anything from long range, allowing the Maroons to keep their distance.
Out of the locker room, the Maroons started on a 13-5 run, bringing their lead up to 20. Gustavus found four field goals in the session, including their first three of the night, but UChicago used a small 6-3 run at the end of the quarter to bring the score to 55-33 when the buzzer sounded.
The Gusties held the Maroons to just five points in the fourth quarter and used a 7-2 run to put pressure back on, capped off by a three-pointer by lone senior
Bobbie Bruns (Blooming Prairie, Minn.). While Bruns has donned the black and gold, the team has a record of 98-17 and she has never played a season where the team did not make the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore
Anna Goodman (Lakeville, Minn.) led the Gusties in steals (2), rebounds (6), assists (4), and added four points to wrap up the season, while DeHaan and
Peyton Stevermer (Mankato, Minn.) both had nine points.
The team wraps up the season with an 18-9 record, finishing second in the MIAC, and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in a year where the team graduated its top six players, relying on their youth to continue the legacy of the program. Head coach
Laurie Kelly now sits with an all-time record of 273-96 heading into the offseason.
