BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team battled back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit to tie the contest late in the fourth, before Viterbo University's Alyssa Nilssen's clutch play at the end of the game helped the V-Hawks pull out the dramatic, 67-64, win in North Star Athletic Association play at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins fell to 12-9 on the season with the loss and 3-2 in the NSAA. Viterbo improved to 7-10 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Elexis Martinez led the Bruins with a double-double, registering 18 points and 13 rebounds. She nailed 10-of-12 free throws while also adding a pair of blocks and two assists. Lexi Allen chipped in 14 points while hitting 3-of-4 from behind the arc and adding five rebounds.
Nilssen led all players with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. Allie Wojtysiak collected a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Neither team could establish control in the early going, as the first quarter featured four ties and five lead changes before both squads settled for a 16-16 tie after the opening ten minutes.
The V-Hawks closed the second quarter on a 16-3 run to take a 43-28 at the intermission.
VU led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before the Bruins used a 17-10 run to close the gap to 11 points at 58-47 entering the final quarter.
Capped by a pair of free throws from Martinez, the Bruins scored the first four points of the fourth stanza to climb to within seven points at 58-51 with nine minutes remaining in the contest.
An 11-point BU run highlighted by a steal and a layup from Khalilah Holloway tied the contest at 62-all at the 1:34 mark.
After Nilssen's layup helped the V-Hawks regain the lead, Martinez tied the game again with a pair of free throws.
Nilssen's step-back 3-pointer gave VU a 67-64 advantage with 11 seconds left in the game and the Bruins missed a pair of shots as time expired to give the V-Hawks the 3-point victory.
The Bruins will host Waldorf University at 3 p.m. on Saturday in an NSAA contest at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
