FOREST CITY, Iowa -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team, trailing for most of the night, clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter to down Waldorf University by a score of 67-65 in a key North Star Athletic Association match-up on Friday evening at Hanson Fieldhouse.
Records:
(RV) Bellevue: 15-8 (6-2 NSAA)
Waldorf: 9-10 (4-4 NSAA)
Recap: (RV) Bellevue 67, Waldorf 65
Trailing by just two points and with possession of the ball with 6.3 seconds to go, Waldorf was unable to get off a shot as Bellevue picked up a come-from-behind victory over the Warriors on Friday evening. With a foul to give, BU's Faith Ross reached in to force Waldorf to inbound the ball a second time. The second inbound was thrown low into the post before being stolen by Shanae Collins who ran out the clock to preserve the BU win.
BU limited Waldorf to just 27.3 percent shooting and forced four fourth quarter turnovers to complete the comeback.
Bellevue scored the first nine points of the game to prompt Waldorf to burn a timeout at the 7:34 mark. The Warriors answered back later in the period, going on a 16-5 spurt to snag a 20-16 lead with 1:27 to go. Elexis Martinez converted an old-fashioned three-point play to get BU within a point after one period, 20-19, three of her eight points in the quarter.
Waldorf flipped the script to open the second quarter, scoring the first six points, to grab their largest lead of the half, 26-19, just 55 seconds into the period. Laura Jurek ended the BU drought to open the quarter by draining a trey with 7:08 to play. The Bruins took their first lead of the quarter, 33-31, on a layup from Jurek with 1:24 to go. However, a bucket from Ameh Ogbemudia and a triple by Morgan Straight gave the Warriors a 36-33 lead at the intermission.
The Warriors out-shot BU 55.6-40.0 percent in the first half, including a 50.0-14.3 percent edge from deep. Bellevue hung around thanks to forcing the host side into 10 turnovers, while committing just six themselves, which they converted into a 9-6 edge at the other end of the floor.
Out of the break, Waldorf stretched their advantage to nine points with an 8-2 run to force BU to take a timeout at the 7:01 mark. Bellevue tightened things a bit but the Warriors restored their nine-point edge on a layup from Michaela Graffunder and BU trailed 55-50 entering the final period.
The Warriors worked their lead back up to seven points in the fourth quarter with 5:42 to play on a trey from Graffunder but BU answered with three-straight three-pointers, a pair from Faith Ross sandwiched around one from Jamie Winkler, to grab their first lead of the second half at 63-61. The teams traded buckets until a layup by Morgan Cuffe with 1:41 left gave BU a two-possession lead.
Ross led four Bruins in double-figures with 19 points, including dropping a game-high four three-pointers. Jurek and Martinez each narrowly missed double-doubles, as Jurek finished the night with 13 points and nine boards and Martinez totaled 10 points and nine rebounds. Winkler tossed in 10 as the fourth Bruin in double figures.
Graffunder paced a balanced Waldorf attack with 17 points while five other Warriors registered between seven and 11 points. Taylor Fricke and Ogbemudia scored 11 apiece and Straight chipped in 10 to join her in double figures.
BU remains unbeaten on the season in one-possession games, improving to 3-0 with the victory.
Up Next:
Bellevue is back in action tomorrow afternoon as they take on the V-Hawks of Viterbo University at 3 p.m. from R.W. Beggs Sr. Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis.
