ABERDEEN, S.D. -- After struggling offensively for the majority of the first half, the Bellevue University women's basketball team scored 58 second-half points to pull away for an 88-55 victory at Presentation College Saturday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Strode Center.
The Bruins, who outscored PC, 58-27, in the second half, improved to 16-10 on the season and 7-3 in the NSAA. Presentation fell to 2-21 overall and 1-10 in league play. The Bruins scored the final 25 points of the contest.
Jamie Winkler led five Bruins in double figures, finishing with a season-high 23 points on a 9-of-13 performance from the field. Faith Ross, Laura Jurek, Cassie Jones, and Khalilah Holloway each contributed 10 points.
The Saints were paced Karly Sanchez (18) and Jada Campbell (15) who combined for 33 of the Saints' 54 points. Sanchez went 5-of-8 from the field, including three 3-pointers, while nailing all five of her free-throw attempts. Campbell added 12 rebounds for a double-double.
After a triple by Lynnae Mitchell gave the Saints an early 3-2 lead, the Bruins scored 11-straight points capped by a 3-pointer from Winkler to take a 13-3 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter. PC responded with a 6-0 run to close the first, as BU took a 13-9 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Both teams shot just 30 percent from the field in the opening quarter.
The first eight minutes of the second quarter saw both teams trading baskets until the Saints battled back to tie the contest following a short jumper by Campbell with 1:15 left before halftime. The Bruins countered with five-straight points to take a 30-25 lead. Karly Sanchez, however, nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Bruin lead to 30-28 at the intermission.
Jones led the Bruins in the first half with 10 points and three rebounds. Jones was 4-of-8 from the field while drilling a pair of 3-pointers in the opening half.
Campbell paced the Saints in the first half with 11 points and eight boards.
PC outshot the Bruins in the opening 20 minutes, 41.2 percent to 33.3 percent. BU was just 4-of-17 from behind the arc.
The Saints used a 12-5 run to open the second half to take a 40-35 lead with 5:26 left in the third. Sparked by three 3-pointers from Jurek, the Bruins closed the third stanza on a 19-7 run to take a 54-47 lead heading into the final quarter.
BU expanded the lead to 12 points after scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter. The Saints never got closer than nine points the remainder of the contest as BU pulled away for the 88-54 victory. Bellevue outscored the Saints, 34-8, in the fourth quarter, including ending the game with 25-consecutive points.
The Bruins return home next Friday, Feb. 14, when they entertain Valley City State University beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
