POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- Elexis Martinez led four Bruins in double figures as the Bellevue University women's basketball team snapped a modest two-game skid by defeating John Brown University 76-58 on Saturday afternoon in the C of O Lady Cat Coke Classic at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of the College of the Ozarks.
Records:
(RV) Bellevue: 5-3
John Brown: 2-4
Recap: (RV) Bellevue 76, John Brown 58
Bellevue raced out to a 9-0 lead less than three minutes into the game and never trailed as they out-scored the Golden Eagles in all four quarters.
John Brown got back into the game courtesy of a 15-6 spurt that saw the Golden Eagles tie things up with 1:01 to play in the opening quarter but a bucket from Cassie Jones and a pair of free throws by Jerrene Richardson gave BU a 19-15 lead after one period.
Bellevue pushed the lead to seven points early in the second quarter before seeing it reduced to three on a pair of free throws from JBU's Harley James. However, BU continued their strong play, running the lead to 11 on a put-back basket from Ayiana Uhde, before taking a 43-38 lead into the intermission.
The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to six points midway through the third quarter, courtesy of a 5-0 spurt but that was as close they would get the rest of the way.
BU out-scored JBU 14-9 for the remainder of the third quarter and held the Golden Eagles to just nine fourth quarter points as they picked up their fifth win of the season.
Elexis Martinez poured in a game-high 22 points for the Bruins as she moved to within six points of the 1,000-point plateau for her BU career.
Joining Martinez in double figures were Richardson, Jones, and Faith Ross. Richardson dropped in a season-high 19 points, Jones chipped in 11, and Ross added 10 to go along with a career-high nine boards.
Tarrah Stephens led the Golden Eagles with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Up Next:
Bellevue travels to Sioux Falls, S.D. on Monday, Nov. 25 for an exhibition tilt against NCAA Division II side Augustana at 5:30 p.m. The Bruins' next regular-season action comes in the Hastings College Classic on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 29-30 as BU plays a pair games against Doane (Friday, 2 p.m.) and No. 16 Hastings (Saturday, 3 p.m.).