SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team came out on top of Saint Ben’s in its home opener with a final score of 76-66.
Caitlin Rorman (So., Blue Earth) got the scoring started just a minute into the game assisted by Ava Gonsorowski (Sr., Esko). Saint Ben’s tied the score twice, the second time at 10-10, but the Gusties responded with a 15-10 run to close out the first quarter with a 25-20 lead.
Gabby Bowlin (Sr., Winona) set the tone in the second quarter with a layup assisted by Rorman. Rorman would put up another assist, a jump shot, and a pair of rebounds for Gustavus to dominate with a 21-point lead (45-24) at halftime.
The Bennies came back defensively in the third quarter but Paige Richert (Sr., Comfrey) had a stellar seven rebounds and two blocks for the Gusties to maintain a 27-point lead before the fourth quarter.
Saint Ben’s outscored the Gusties 33-16 in the fourth quarter, but Gustavus held strong at the end for the 76-66 win.
The Gusties found strength down low with 52 points in the paint compared to the Bennies’ 20 points and demonstrated their persistence in smaller battles totaling 24 second-chance points.
“It’s great to be back on our home court since it’s been about a year since we played at home,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “We set the tone right away, not as thrilled with how the second half went and we might have gotten content with where we were and that’s something you can’t do against good teams. Since it’s only our second game of the year there’s a lot of good things we’re doing but things we need to work on. With first-year players it’s about giving them opportunities to be on the floor to learn and grow. Since it’s been a tough year we’re finding the positives. It feels good to win and every opportunity to play is all we’re looking for.”
Caitlin Rorman led the team in points with 14 and Paige Richerts had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. The Gusties shot 40% from the field and had 52 rebounds opposed to the Bennies’ 32.