Parker Burman-
Prior to an extended break due to the Thanksgiving holiday, both the Gustavus Men’s and No. 15 ranked Women’s basketball teams faced off against conference rival St. Olaf. Both teams would blow out the Oles in two very convincing early season victories by a score of 97-59 for the Men and 87-47 for the Women.
For the Men, the Gusties and Oles exchanged early buckets to start the contest before the Gusties pulled ahead to a 7-5 lead on a jumper from Senior Evan Wieker, 2:57 into the game. This lead would never be relinquished by the Gusties as they only continued to build on it throughout the first half of the game. Thanks to a shot drained from beyond the arc from Junior Guard Brady Kienitz prior to the close of the frame, it pushed the Gusties up to a 19-point lead heading into the break for a score of 49-30.
“I feel that I performed well but it was a really great team win. We jumped out to an early lead and never really looked back. We were making the right plays and just trusting in each other to the fullest,” Junior Spencer Swanson said.
The second half was much of the same with the Gusties continuing to roll all over St. Olaf. Gustavus’s largest lead of the game was achieved by First-year Myles Barnetter -the first points of his collegiate career!- to push the score to 97-57. Several other players made both their Gustavus and collegiate debuts including First-years Isaac Dearborn and Jack Schmitt, who both saw time on the court for the Gusties. In the waning seconds of the game, St. Olaf would manage one final basket to attempt to close the gap but ultimately lost, leaving behind a 97-59 Gustavus victory.
“We have taken good steps to start the year off. Played some tough teams to start, and having all of those games be on the road does not make it any easier. I think we learned a lot about ourselves in those first 3 games, and to come back and win the next 2 against great teams really showed the resilience of this group,” Senior Wyatt Olson said.
Five Gusties scored double-digit points, led by Swanson who had 22 points on the night, shooting 10-14. Sophomore Carson Koch added 11, while Kienitz and Senior Adam Biewen both added an even ten to the score sheet. Gustavus shot 67.8 percent from the floor, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in an efficient shooting night. The defense clamped down the Ole Offense allowing only a 43.4 shooting percentage and forcing ten turnovers.
“I think it goes back to how we executed that game. I thought we did a great job of getting the shots we wanted on offense. Anytime we can do that, we are going to feel really good about our performance,” Olson said.
Much like the Men, the Women dominated the Oles early and often on their way to an 87-47 win. The No. 15 ranked Women showed that they will be a team to reckon with all season long in a game that moved to 2-0 on the season and dropped St. Olaf to 1-3.
Just four minutes into the game the Gusties held a double-digit lead and would never give it back leading by a video game type of score 30-6. The Gustavus offense slowed down slightly in the second quarter, as they only put up 16 points and allowed a total of nine to enter the break by a score of 46-15. This 31-point lead at the half allowed Head Coach Laurie Kelly to clear her bench allowing this to be a complete team victory for the Gusties with everyone contributing in some capacity.
Junior Forward Morgan Kelly led the team off of the bench with 15 points in just 16 minutes of time on the court, including going 3-for-3 beyond the arc. Junior Forward Rachel Kawiecki was second behind Kelly on the score sheet putting up 14 points of her own. Senior Syd Hauger and First-year Kaitlyn Schaefer contributed 11 and nine points respectively, showing the balance between veterans and young players on this team.
“I think that the team was really happy being able to have a great offensive game against Olaf. Shots were falling, energy was high, and we were able to execute offensively and defensively. Our defense really took the pressure off of our offense. We were able to force a lot of turnovers and push the ball quickly, allowing us to get quick, easy scores. Our defensive game also took pressure off of our offense, giving us the ability to move the ball around and look for the highest percentage shot we could get on offense. Being able to score 87 points also made the atmosphere exciting for our fans,” Morgan Kelly said.
“It’s nice to start with a veteran group and we came out of the gate just like our opener,” Head Coach Kelly said. “We established ourselves in the first quarter and played really well. To be able to play that deep and get everyone some experience, especially our eight freshmen, was great to see. We saw some good things. We shot well from the three-point line and defensively we held them under 50 points. It was a great opportunity for us early in the season to keep learning and growing.”
Both the Men and Women will next face off against Augsburg on the road on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for the Women and at 7:00 p.m. for the Men. With the season still in its early stages, there are plenty of opportunities to get out there and support your Gustavus basketball program.
“The outlook for this team is just to grow and get better every day. As a team, we have really focused on just thinking about our season as a process and taking it one day at a time. It has really helped our growth and will continue to be a major piece of our success,” Swanson said
“We have a very positive outlook for the season. I think after last year, we were happy that we made it as far as we did, but we aren’t satisfied. We want more and we want to go farther in the NCAA Tournament. I think remaining undefeated and being able to control our own destiny is key in that plan. We will continue to work and improve because we are definitely hungry for more,” Morgan Kelly said.