BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team used a big scoring run at the start of the third quarter en route to a 72-56 victory over the University of Saint Mary (Kan.) Friday evening in the Bruin Thanksgiving Classic at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins improved to 5-4 on the season, while the Spires fell to 2-5 overall.
Bellevue used a balanced offense in the victory with five Bruins scoring in double figures. Caletria Curtis led BU with her second double-double of the season, finishing with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ryleigh McCartney hit 3-of-4 3-pointers, recording 11 points and five boards. Cassidy Hubbs scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed three rebounds. Sierra Roberts finished with 10 points and two steals. Beth Walker was the fifth Bruin in double figures, registering 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Cassidy Harbert was the lone Spire in double figures, finishing with 10 points to go along with four rebounds.
The BU defense held the Spires to just 16.7 percent shooting in the first quarter as the Bruins grabbed a 16-10 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. Curtis scored six of BU's 17 points in the first quarter, going 3-of-4 from the field while nailing her lone 3-point attempt.
After a jumper by Aerreon Parker drew the Spires to within four points at 29-25 with 3:39 left in the first half, the Bruins closed the period on a 5-0 run to take a 34-25 lead into the intermission. Curtis (11) and Walker (8) combined for 19 points to pace the BU offense in the first half.
After USM scored the first five points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to four points at 34-30, Bellevue responded with a 17-1 run to push the lead up to 20 points with 5:12 left in the third stanza. The Spires got as close as 16 points before Hubbs nailed a short jumper at the buzzer to give BU a 60-42 edge heading into the final quarter.
The two teams played evenly throughout the fourth quarter with the Spires never getting closer than 16 points as BU secured the 72-56 victory.
The Bruins will conclude the tournament on Saturday (Nov. 26) with a 3 p.m. contest against No. 25-ranked Haskell Indian Nations University.
