FOREST CITY, Iowa -- Elexis Martinez scored 18 points to lead the Bellevue University women's basketball team to a 60-51 North Star Athletic Association victory at Waldorf University Sunday afternoon at Hanson Fieldhouse.
The Bruins snapped a two-game losing skid, improving to 8-7 on the season and 2-2 in the NSAA. Waldorf fell to 4-9 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Martinez, who went 7-of-12 from the field, added five rebounds and a pair of steals. Christen Voyles added 12 points and three boards. Caletria Curtis narrowly missed recording a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
WU was paced by Morgan Straights' 13 points, three assists and two steals.
The Warriors took a slim 19-18 lead after the first quarter, led by Straight's seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. WU outshot the Bruins 50 to 42.9 percent. Martinez led BU in the opening frame with six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
Bellevue forced eight turnovers and closed the second quarter on a 13-4 run to erase a four-point deficit as BU gained a 33-28 advantage going into the intermission.
Martinez led BU in the first half with nine points and three rebounds. Curtis and Beth Walker each chipped in with seven points as the Bruins shot 35.3 percent from the field in the first two quarters.
Waldorf was led in the opening half by Straight's 11 points. The Warriors cooled off in the second quarter, shooting just 24.6 percent from the field
After Taylor Cormier scored 10 seconds into the third quarter to give the Bruins a seven-point lead, BU went scoreless for nearly six minutes as WU pulled to within one point at 37-36 with four minutes remaining in the stanza. The Bruins responded by closing the third on an 11-2 run as BU took a 48-38 lead going into the final quarter.
A free throw by Curtis gave BU its largest lead of the game at 49-38 with 9:19 left in the contest. The Warriors, however, went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to two points at 49-47. Once again, the Bruins responded by scoring the next eight points claiming a 10-point advantage at 57-47 with just over one minute remaining in the game.
The Bruins nailed four free throws in the final 90 seconds to seal the 60-51 victory.
Bellevue will host the Fairfield Inn & Suites Bruin Classic on Dec. 29-30 in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The Bruins' first opponent will be Grand View University at 3 p.m. on Dec. 29.
