SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s basketball team shot a perfect 9-for-9 in the first quarter Wednesday, setting the tone for a decisive 76-50 win over Carleton. The Gusties improve to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the MIAC, while the Knights drop to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Anna Sanders (Jr., Vadnais Heights) was the star of the game, making her first six shots of the game and finishing with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Eleven different Gusties scored with Morgan Kelly (Fy., Saint Peter) contributing 12 points off the bench on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor. Grace Benz (Sr., Steele, N.D.) led the team on the boards with six rebounds while adding four steals.
As a team, the Gusties shot 80 percent in the first half and cooled off in the second for a total of 55.4 percent. The hot-shooting first half led the the Knights having zero defensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes of the game.
“That’s the best we’ve play all year, for sure,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “They play matchup zone and we knew we’d have to make some shots. We were perfect in first quarter and that just doesn’t really happen all that often. We gained a lot of confidence by making some shots and that elevated everybody’s game.”
The Gusties gained a 29-13 advantage after the first quarter and held a comfortable lead the rest of the game. The score read 53-27 at halftime and the second half featured much of the Gustie bench players as all 17 players saw time on the court.
Gustavus returns to Gus Young Court on Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup against Macalester.