BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Caletria Curtis scored 22 points and Beth Walker recorded a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) to lead third-seeded (RV) Bellevue to a 92-60 win over sixth-seeded Presentation in Wednesday evening's NSAA Quarterfinal game played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
BU improves to 19-12 on the season while Presentation concludes their year with an overall mark of 12-15.
The win was the first post-season victory in the brief two-year history of the BU program.
Through a quarter of play Bellevue was shooting just 35.3 percent and trailed Presentation, 16-15. Beth Walker and Shayla Dean kept Bellevue in contention early, combining to sink five three-pointers in the first half.
The momentum seemed to swing when Bellevue rattled off seven-straight points to turn a deficit into a 25-20 lead in just 90 seconds of game time. The Saints never fully recovered as Bellevue led by as many as eight points in the quarter until a 50/50 ball went the Bruins' way.
Ryleigh McCartney had the ball knocked out of her hand and off her nose but Jamie Winkler, who scored 12 points on the night, collected the loose ball and sank a three at the buzzer to give the Bruins a 40-31 lead headed into halftime.
Caletria Curtis took over in the third quarter, scoring 14 of her game-high 22 points in the period, as she out-scored the entire Saints team (14-11) and Bellevue stretched their lead to 64-42 headed into the final period of play.
Instrumental in the victory was Bellevue's ability to hold Presentation's normally potent three-point shooting game in check as the Saints managed to shoot just 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. PC's top two scorers on the season Macy Toelle (15.6 ppg) and Allison Cox (14.6 ppg) combined for just 18 points on 8-23 shooting from the floor, including hitting a combined 1-9 from deep.
The Saints were led by Shayla Strauss' 13 points. Cox, Toelle, and Karly Sanchez each scored nine with Cox and Heather Estrada grabbing six boards apiece to lead the team.
Bellevue shot 51.4 percent from the floor as a team to Presentation's 40.4 percent effort and out-rebounded their guests 41-27 on the night.
With the victory Bellevue advances to Saturday's semi-final round in Jamestown, N.D. where they play will play third-seeded #16 Valley City State at 6 p.m.
