BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team outscored Haskell Indian Nations University 25-13 in the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 78-58 victory in the Bruin Thanksgiving Classic at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins improved to 6-4 on the season with the win. Haskell, ranked No. 25 in the NAIA Pre-Season Top 25 Poll, dropped to 6-5 overall.
Christen Voyles scored a career-high 16 points to pace the Bruin offense. Voyles nailed 3-of-4 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds. Beth Walker registered 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Ryleigh McCartney and Taylor Cormier both poured in 10 points.
Caletria Curtis grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds as the Bruins held a 46-35 advantage in total rebounds.
Kortney Meat led four Indians in double figures, finishing with 12 points, to go along with four assists and three rebounds.
Both teams came out of the gate cold with each squad going 0-6 from behind the arc and shooting under 35 percent from the field in the first quarter. Walker's seven points and three rebounds helped give the Bruins a 16-12 advantage after the first stanza.
Five-straight points from the Indians gave HINU a 17-16 lead with 8:18 remaining before halftime. The two teams played evenly the next five minutes until BU used a 13-4 run to close the half, giving the Bruins a 38-31 lead at the break. BU heated up from behind the 3-point line, going 5-of-10 in the second quarter.
After a layup by Curtis gave the Bruins' a nine-point advantage to begin the second half, HINU went on an 8-0 run to slice the BU lead to one at 40-39 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. A 13-6 run to end the quarter gave the Bruins a 53-45 edge heading into the final frame.
The Bruins scored the first five points of the final quarter to extend the margin to 13 points at 58-45 with 8:21 left in the contest. The Indians never got closer than 10 points the remainder of the game as BU shot 57.1 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 26 points, before earning the 78-58 victory.
The Bruins will open conference play next Friday, Dec. 2 when they travel to La Crosse, Wis. for a 5:30 p.m. contest at Viterbo University.
