BELLEVUE, Neb. -- After trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half, the Bellevue University women's basketball team fought back for a 66-60 victory over visiting Mount Mercy University in the Bruins' final game of the Hampton Inn Bruin Classic being played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Bruins improved to 7-9 on the season. MMU fell to 4-11 overall.
Asha Scott led Bellevue with a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds while adding four steals and three assists. Faith Ross came off the bench to register 15 points while going 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Elexis Martinez finished with seven points, six rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists.
Madison Dreckman paced the Mustangs with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Sassy Coleman added 13 points, nine boards, and three blocks. Annika Headington was the third Mustang in double figures, finishing with 11 points along with six rebounds.
The Bruins hit just 1-of-9 shots to open the contest as MMU built an early 10-3 lead capped by a deep 3-pointer from Deja Antoine. BU answered with a 7-0 run to knot the contest at 10-all.
After the two teams traded four-point runs, a 3-pointer by McKenzie Stoehr countered by a layup from Scott made it 17-16 in favor of MMU after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Scott led BU in the first quarter with six points while Dreckman poured in seven points for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs used a 13-0 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Dreckman, Stoehr, and Antoine to take a 32-19 lead with 5:16 left in the opening half.
The Bruins got as close as 10 points following a layup from Martinez before the Mustangs settled for a 36-25 halftime advantage.
BU shot just 30 percent in the opening half and was 1-of-12 from behind the arc. Scott led the Bruins in the opening half with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.
Dreckman paced the Mustangs in the first half with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
After Dreckman opened the third quarter with a layup to extend the MMU advantage to 13 points, BU went on a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Miranda Hennings to cut the deficit to six points at 38-32 at the 8:32 mark.
Five-straight points from Ross sparked a 7-0 BU run as the Bruins tied the contest at 39 apiece with 5:12 left in the third.
A 15-foot jumper from Martinez and a nifty layup from Scott gave BU its first lead of the second half at 43-41 at the 3:25 mark.
The Bruins used 3-pointers by Ross and Aminah Hall to extend the lead to six points before taking a 51-47 advantage heading into the final stanza.
After a 3-pointer by Headington tied the game at 54-all, BU used an 8-2 spurt to gain a six-point cushion at 62-56 with 2:50 remaining in the contest.
The Mustangs got as close as four points twice before two free throws by Scott in the final 30 seconds secured the 66-60 victory.
The Bruins return to conference action next Friday, Jan. 7, when they travel to Dickinson, N.D. to take on Dickinson State University beginning at 6:30 p.m. (central time).
