MINNEAPOLIS – The Gustavus women’s basketball team fell in a 15-0 hole to start Wednesday’s game at Augsburg and were unable to crawl out, resulting in a 55-46 loss. The Gusties drop to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the MIAC, while the Auggies improve to 5-3 overall and 5-0 in the league.
The Gusties didn’t score their first basket until the 1:43 mark in the first quarter and trailed 19-4 after the opening 10 minutes. The two teams combined for just eight points on 2-of-26 shooting from the field, including four made free throws in the second quarter. Augsburg led 23-8 at halftime.
The third quarter fared much better for the Gusties as they shot 72.7 percent (8-11), including 6-of-7 from the free throw line, closing the gap to 34-30 heading to the fourth quarter. Anna Sanders (Jr., Vadnais Heights) made a jumper and a three-pointer early in the fourth, cutting the deficit to two points twice, but the Auggies went on a 7-2 run, followed by 10 unanswered points to seal the victory.
Gustavus finished the game shooting 33.3 percent. Rebounds were even at 35 apiece. The Gusties struggled from beyond the arc, making 2-of-19 three-pointers.
Sanders and Emma Kneifel (So., Medford) led the offense with 10 points apiece. Grace Benz (Sr., Steele, N.D.) posted a game-high eight rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
“When you’re on the road, you have to come out and establish yourself and we just didn’t do that,” Head Coach Laurie Kelly said. “We couldn’t make shots and weren’t doing well defensively. The second quarter we adjusted and grinded on defense but we still struggled to score. We could have folded after that and I credit them for coming back in the second half. The team that showed up in the second half is going to compete with anybody in our league. We just have to decide who we are going to be.”
Gustavus travels to St. Catherine on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.