IRVINE, Calif. -- Three Bruins scored in double figures as the Bellevue University women's basketball team earned a 59-49 victory at Westcliff University Thursday afternoon at the Jordan Lawley Facility.
The victory, which followed a 71-59 win at San Diego Christian on Wednesday, improved the Bruins to 6-8 on the season. WU fell to 2-6 overall.
The win marked head coach Dave Denly's 450th career victory. He is now 450-235 in 23 seasons of coaching.
For the second-straight game, Faith Ross led the Bruins in scoring. Ross finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. She was 2-of-7 from behind the arc.
Elexis Martinez added 13 points (all in the first half), five rebounds, and a pair of assists. She was 6-of-10 from the field.
Taeha Pankey went 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc, finishing with 10 points and a pair of boards.
Westcliff was led by Trinity Vasquez, who scored 21 points. Vasquez, Bailey Hawkiins (12), and Laura Tapia (11), combined for 44 of WU's 49 points.
Martinez drained her first five shots as BU grabbed a 19-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Bruins went 7-of-9 in the opening stanza and 1-of-2 from behind the arc. BU forced six Warrior turnovers in the first quarter, scoring seven points off WU miscues.
After Martinez hit her sixth-straight shot to give BU an 11-point advantage, the Warriors went on an 8-2 run to close the gap to five points at 23-18 with 8:18 left before the intermission.
Sparked by a 3-point play from Ashtyn Arnold, the Bruins responded with five-straight points to regain a double-digit cushion at 28-18 midway through the second quarter.
After Bailey Hawkins hit back-to-back buckets to trim the margin to seven points, Ross drilled a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to give BU a 33-23 halftime advantage.
The Bruins were red-hot in the opening half, shooting 70.6 percent from the field, including a 2-of-4 effort from long range.
Martinez led BU in the opening half with 13 points going 6-of-7 while adding three rebounds. Ross finished the first half with seven points and a pair of rebounds.
Vasquez (9), Hawkins (8), and Tapia (6) were the only three Warriors who scored in the first half.
The Bruins maintained a double-digit separation until WU scored four-straight points to move to within six points at 39-33 following a layup by Iemma Bennett with 1:13 left in the third.
A 3-pointer by Ross and a 12-foot jumper by Vasquez made it 42-35 heading into the final quarter.
The Warriors scored the first eight points of the fourth frame and held the Bruins scoreless for over six minutes to take the lead at 43-42 with 3:53 left in the contest.
Highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Pankey and five-straight points from Laura Jurek, the Bruins restored order, closing the contest on a 14-4 run to secure the 59-49 victory.
The Bruins will host the Hampton Inn Bruin Classic on Dec. 29-30 in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. BU will take on Clarke at 3 p.m. on Dec. 29 and Mount Mercy at 3 p.m. on Dec. 30.
