SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team led wire-to-wire in Wednesday’s 74-57 victory over Luther in the home opener. The Gusties improve to 1-1 overall while the Norse drop to 1-3.
Rachel Kawiecki (Fy., Richfield) had a standout game after making her first career start. Kawiecki shot 6-of-10 from the field for 16 points and added 14 rebounds for the double-double. She also made 4-of-5 free throws.
“To have a freshman step up and go for 16 points and 14 rebounds, that was key for us, especially on the glass,” said Head Coach Laurie Kelly.
Gustavus opened the game on an 8-0 run and never looked back. A pair of free throws by Kawiecki gave the Gusties an 17-6 lead, their largest of the first quarter, with 4:01 on the clock. The home team led 25-16 after the first 10 minutes.
The Gusties increased their lead to as much as 16 points (36-20) with 5:32 left in the half, but the Norse climbed back into the game with an 11-3 run to close out the half with the score at 39-31.
Luther continued to decrease its deficit in the third quarter, opening the half with a 7-1 run to bring the score within two points (40-38) in the first three minutes. The Gusties responded with an 11-4 run over the next four minutes and a three-pointer by Anna Sanders (Jr., Vadnais Heights) gave the home team a 55-45 lead with 1:33 left in the third.
The Gusties started the fourth with a layup from Sanders to reclaim a double-digit lead, which they increased to as much as 17 points at the end of the game.
Gustavus shot 38.2 percent from the field while the Norse shot 40 percent. The Gusties edged the Norse 40-39 on the boards. Along with Kawiecki, three other Gusties reached double figure scoring. Sanders posted 14 points and four steals, Emma Kniefel (So., Medford) had 12 points and six rebounds, and Syd Hauger (So., Springfield) added 11 points and a pair of steals.
“We came out of the gates pretty strong and then defensively we had a lot of errors in transition and we let them beat us down hill on some one on one situations,” Kelly said. “Sometimes you don’t win pretty and you just have to grind out a win, and we did that. I think we learned a lot after the Simpson loss and I would say the same thing about today’s win against Luther.”
Gustavus travels to Bethel on Saturday afternoon for the MIAC opener.