MADISON, S.D. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team battled back from a 15-point second-half deficit before falling, 62-57, to Dakota State University in North Star Athletic Association action Saturday at the DSU Fieldhouse.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 7-7 on the season and 1-2 in the NSAA. The Trojans improved to 5-9 overall and 2-1 in league play.
Senior Caletria Curtis paced the Bruins with her team-leading third double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Shayla Dean added 11 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists.
Britley Plautz (21) and Lindsey Vogl (14) combined for 35 points to lead the Trojan offense.
The Bruins shot just 22.5 percent from the field and hit just 5-of-22 3-point attempts.
Bellevue made just 3-of-18 shots in the first quarter and committed four turnovers as DSU grabbed a 15-6 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. BU was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc and 0-for-3 at the charity stripe in the opening quarter.
The Trojans led by as many as 14 points in the first half at 25-11 following a jumper by Raven Patton with 5:05 left before halftime. The Bruins got as close as eight points before DSU settled for a 31-21 halftime advantage.
Curtis led BU with 13 points and five rebounds in the opening half. Plautz paced the Trojans with 13 points and three boards in the first half as DSU outshot the Bruins 30.3 to 21.9 percent from the field.
After the Trojans built a 15-point lead at 45-30 midway through the third quarter, the Bruins went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to eight points at 47-39 with 50 seconds remaining in the period. The Trojans, however, scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 51-39 lead heading into the final stanza.
A 3-pointer by Dean sliced the lead to single digits at 53-44 with 7:14 remaining in the contest.
Two free throws by Beth Walker capped a 6-0 BU run to pull the Bruins to within six points at 53-47 with just under six minutes left. That was as close as BU could get until consecutive 3-pointers by Jamie Winkler and Dean brought the Bruins to with three points at 60-57 with 17.8 seconds remaining in the game.
Two free throws by Cassie Jones sealed the win as BU missed a pair of shots in the final seconds, giving the Trojans the 62-57 victory.
The Bruins will travel to Forest City, Iowa on Sunday, Dec. 17 for a 3 p.m. contest at Waldorf University.
NOTES:
• The Bruins recorded a season-high 17 steals and 24 offensive rebounds in the loss
• BU tied a season high with 20 made free throws
• The Bruins are 0-6 on the season when shooting under 40 percent
