BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Senior Brittany Hill scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Bellevue University women's basketball team to an 87-78 upset over No. 14-ranked Mayville State University Monday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The victory moves Bellevue into a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings at 10-3. The Bruins are 19-10 overall. MSU falls to 21-5 on the season and 10-3 in league play.
Hill, who drained three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch, added three rebounds in the victory. Faith Ross chipped in with 19 points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists. Elexis Martinez was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 14 points and five rebounds.
Kylee Heurung paced the Comets with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Cyan Hale added 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
The Comets used an 8-point run in the early going to grab a 17-9 lead with 3:46 left in the opening stanza as MSU began the game on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. BU closed to within three points before a pair of free throws by Andrea Skillingstad gave the Comets a 23-18 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of play.
After a 3-pointer by Claire Blaicziek gave the Comets an 8-point lead at 26-18, the Bruins used a 13-5 run capped by a steal and layup by Khalilah Holloway to tie the contest at 31-31 with 5:28 left before halftime.
After the two teams traded mini-runs, a 3-pointer by Hale gave the Comets a 42-38 lead at the intermission.
Ross led the Bruins in the first half with nine points and three rebounds.
Heurung paced the Comets with 14 points and three boards in the opening half, which saw MSU outshoot the Bruins, 50 to 41 percent.
BU was just 8-of-13 from the charity stripe in the first half while the Comets nailed 9-of-10 free throws.
The Bruins took their second lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Ross, giving BU a 43-42 lead three minutes into the third quarter.
Hill scored five-straight points in a 13-2 BU run to give the Bruins a 64-53 lead with 1:45 left in the third. The two teams played evenly the remainder of the quarter as BU took a 67-58 lead heading into the final stanza. Bellevue outscored the Comets, 29-16, in the third on 61.1 percent shooting from the field.
The Comets scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to three points (67-64) with six minutes remaining in the contest. Hill responded with eight-straight points in a 12-0 run to push the lead to 15 points (79-64) at the 3:16 mark.
MSU battled back with eight-consecutive points to draw to within seven points at 79-72 before the Bruins nailed eight-straight free throws in the final 45 seconds to secure the 87-78 victory.
The Bruins will host Dakota State on Friday, Feb. 22 in the final regular-season home game of the season. Bellevue's two seniors, Brittany Hill and Cassie Jones will be honored following the conclusion of the game. Dakota State is the third team tied atop the league standings.
