Box Score
Gustavus Adolphus 84, Ohio Wesleyan 68

Freshman guard Mia Guscoff (Canton/Massillon Perry) scored 5 points and junior guard Kasey Schipfer (Mechanicsburg) had 4 points as Ohio Wesleyan whittled a pair of 12-point second-quarter deficits to just 5 points, but ninth-/11th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus had an answer for each Bishop comeback, and the Gusties went on to a win in a first-round matchup of the NCAA Division III tournament on Friday in Whitewater, Wis.

Gustavus Adolphus advances to the second round to face the winner of Friday's game between Webster and 17th/23rd-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The Gusties got a lay-in by Rachel Kawiecki on the opening possession of the game, then turned a pair of steals into baskets by Emma Kniefel and Kawiecki to take a 6-0 lead.  Another Kniefel fast-break lay-in gave Gustavus Adolphus a 10-4 lead at the 7:22 mark of the first quarter.

Ohio Wesleyan rallied with jumpers by sophomore post Alyssa Griner (Delaware/Hayes) and sophomore post Karlee Ross (Beverly/Fort Frye) to close within 10-8, but the Gusties went on a 10-2 run that included 3 lay-ins by Morgan Kelly to take a 20-10 lead, and Kawiecki closed out the first-quarter scoring with a 3-point play that made it 27-16 at the break.

Kawiecki split a pair of free throws to open the second period and give Gustavus Adolphus a 28-16 advantage, but Guscoff sank a pair of free throws and buried a 3-pointer, and Griner followed with a hoop to bring the Bishops within 28-23, but the Gusties countered with a 9-2 burst that featured 6 points by Grace Benz to open up a 37-25 lead midway through the quarter.  That process repeated when the Bishops scored the next 7 points, getting a pair of Schipfer jumpers in the lane and a 3-pointer by junior guard Lauren Denison (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) only to see Gustavus Adolphus respond with 9 straight points to close out the half, with Kelly contributing 4 points and Anna Sanders hitting a 3-pointer to give the Gusties a 46-32 lead heading into the locker room.

Gustavus Adolphus extended the lead during the third quarter, with Baranick's jumper midway through the period kicking off a 7-0 run that resulted in a 63-39 lead at the 3:08 mark.

The Bishops rallied in the fourth period, opening the quarter with 8 straight points as Denison hit a pair of jumpers and Schipfer and junior guard Elizabeth Homan (Cincinnati/Anderson) added buckets as the Ohio Wesleyan defense forced 3 straight turnovers to close to within 69-55 with 7:49 left in regulation time, but that was as close as the Bishops would come.

Schipfer led the Bishops with 17 points and 5 rebounds.  Guscoff finished with 11 points, Denison scored 11 points, Griner added 10 points, and Homan led the Bishops with 8 assists.

Box Score