BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Freshman Faith Ross set the BU single-season record for 3-pointers, leading the Bruins to a 69-58 victory over visiting Valley City State Friday evening in a key North Star Athletic Association contest at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Ross, who hit four 3-pointers in the contest, pushed her season total to 71, leading the Bruins on the night with 21 points.
With the victory, the Bruins improved to 17-8 on the season and 8-2 in the NSAA. The Vikings fell to 10-11 over and 7-3 in league play.
The win also marked head coach Dave Denly's 400th career victory. He now has a career record of 400-207 (.659) in his 20th season of collegiate coaching. He is in his third season at Bellevue after spending 17 years at Southwestern (Kan.)
Elexis Martinez added 11 points and seven rebounds. Shayla Dean finished with seven points, four assists, three steals, and three rebounds.
Hannah Schlecht and Gabby Martin both scored 10 points to lead the Viking offense.
Ross scored the final eight points of the first quarter to give the Bruins a 15-10 advantage after the opening 10 minutes.
The Bruins led by as many as six points in the second quarter before VCSU went on an eight-point run capped by a 3-pointer by Emily Schafer to take a 27-25 lead with 1:56 left before the intermission. Sparked by 3-pointers from Dean and Taeha Pankey, BU closed the half on an 8-4 spurt to take a 33-31 lead at halftime.
Ross led the Bruins in the first half with 10 points while Martinez added six points and four boards. Schafer paced the Vikings in the opening half with seven points and a pair of steals. The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes.
The largest lead of the third quarter was six points following a 3-point play by Pankey, before the Bruins settled for a 44-39 advantage entering the final frame.
Ross's fourth 3-pointer of the game gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead of the contest at 56-46 with 5:41 remaining in the game.
VCSU got as close as seven points following a pair of free throws by Mackenzie Huber, making it 65-58 at the 1:10 mark.
BU nailed four free throws in the final minute to seal the 11-point victory.
The Bruins will host Mayville State on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The two teams are currently tied for the conference lead with identical 8-2 league records.
