ABERDEEN, S.D. -- A 22-0 Presentation run spanning the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters was too much to overcome for the Bellevue University women's basketball team as they fell to Presentation College 66-50 on Saturday afternoon in a North Star Athletic Association game at the Strode Center.
After suffering a third loss in their last four games Bellevue falls to 7-6 overall and 1-1 in league play. The win sees Presentation improve to 3-7 (1-2 NSAA).
Both teams struggled offensively to open the game as the score was just 4-2 in favor of the Bruins at the 5:45 mark. Bellevue used an 8-0 run over a span of just 1:14 to build a nine point advantage bookended by an old-fashioned three-point play from Jamie Winkler and a trifecta from Riley Galvin. PC hung around and a Macy Toelle basket with two seconds to play saw the Bruins take a three-point, 18-15, lead after one quarter of play.
After closing the deficit at the end of the first quarter, Presentation pulled ahead on a Tone Oglesby three-pointer at the 6:32 mark. The Saints would close the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 38-29 lead into the intermission. Macy Toelle led all players with 15 points at the break to help PC shoot 50.0 percent from the field in the first half.
Bellevue was led at the break by Caletria Curtis' 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 effort from the charity stripe. The Bruins shot just 30 percent from the floor as a team, including just 15.4 percent (2-13) from beyond the arc. The Bruins grabbed a 7-3 advantage in offensive rebounds but were unable to convert that into points as they were out-scored 5-2 in second chance points in the opening 20 minutes.
Foul trouble saw a pair of Saints – Karly Sanchez and Tatiana Navarro – go to the bench for large stretches in the first half with three fouls apiece. The Presentation reserves were up to the task in the first half as they matched the Bellevue bench with 10 first half points.
Presentation continued their strong run of play to open the second half, scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter to push their lead to 20 points, 49-29. The run combined with an 11-0 run to end the first half came over a span of 8:06 in which Bellevue went scoreless. BU chipped away at the imposing deficit with an 8-0 run to trim the PC lead to 49-37 but the Saints stretched their advantage to 54-37 headed into the fourth quarter.
The Bruins started the fourth quarter with Winkler sinking a three-pointer as they looked to get on a run but couldn't get the PC lead below 14 points. The Saints effectively put the game away on a Shayla Strauss three-pointer with 4:35 showing on the game clock to go up 62-44.
Presentation's biggest advantage came from behind the three-point line as the hosts out-shot Bellevue 42.3 percent to 11.1 percent on the afternoon. They also took a narrow 32-31 advantage on the glass. PC turned the ball over 19 times to 18 for Bellevue.
Curtis was among the few bright spots for the Bruins, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on the day. Morgan Cuffe joined her in double-figures with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Winkler added eight points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Toelle scored a career-high 28 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Saints. Allison Cox contributed 11 points and four rebounds to the Presentation cause.
Bellevue returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 16 when they travel to Madison, S.D. for a 3 p.m. NSAA tip-off against Dakota State University.
