ARDEN HILLS, Minn – The Gustavus women’s basketball team concluded their season with a 61-58 loss on Monday night at Bethel. The team finishes 5-2 overall in the 2021 season.
A jump shot from Ava Gonsorowski (Sr., Esko) would get the Gusties on the board two minutes into the game. Bethel would quickly tie it up and put rebound pressure on the Gusties to trail 14-9 at the end of the first quarter. Maddy Rice (So., Forest Lake) would lead with three points before closing out the first frame.
Gustavus came out stronger to immediately put up a four point unanswered run in the second quarter to turn the game around and take a lead. The Royals would tie up the score, continuing to find advantages in rebounds. The Gusties went two for four on three pointers but would fall behind to finish with a score of 29-22 at the end of the first half.
Bethel would use their home court advantage in the third quarter to tack on seven points before Gustavus answered back. The Gusties would find their footing in rebounds to outperform with 10 to Bethel’s four, but still trail by eight points before heading into the final frame.
Free throws from Gonsorowski would bring the deficit closer as Caitlin Rorman (So., Blue Earth) initiated scoring against Bethel to turn the game around with the score just two points apart with two minutes remaining before teams took a timeout.
Following the timeout, Rorman would find Emma Kniefel (Fy., Medford) on a layup to tie it up. The Gusties would spend the last minute down by a single point. The Royals would retaliate with a free throw, but a layup from Gabby Bowlin (Sr., Winona) would keep it to a one point game for the final seven seconds. Two successful free throws from Bethel would force the Gusties to settle for the 61-58 loss.
“Tonight wasn’t our best game,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly. “We struggled on offense for the first half and couldn’t get our rhythm down. We played hard and battled even when things weren’t going our way and we were able to get back into the game. We had some injuries in our lineup which impacted our rotations and people were playing different positions than they usually do because of it. It was our last game together and we were just glad to get one last chance to play as a team. Our seniors are a great group of young women and student athletes, they started their careers as Sweet Sixteen participants and they battled a tough final season and we’re really going to miss them as they leave tough shoes to fill and a lot to work for next year.”
Rorman would lead the team with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and one block. Gonsorowski would have five assists on the night.