FOREST CITY, Iowa -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team tied a season-high with 11 3-pointers to overcome a slow start before cruising to a 78-52 victory at Waldorf University Saturday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Hanson Fieldhouse.
With the victory, the Bruins improved to 10-5 on the season and 6-2 in the NSAA. Waldorf fell to 1-12 overall and 1-6 in league play.
For the second-straight night, Faith Ross led the Bruins with a game-high 20 points, along with four rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Ross went 8-for-11 from the field and was 3-of-5 from long range.
Elexis Martinez added 17 points and three boards. Lexi Allen went 2-for-3 from behind the arc, finishing with eight points along with two rebounds.
Sandra Christian paced the Warriors with 14 points after going 4-for-8 in 3-point attempts. Nichole Oberthein added 13 points with three 3-pointers. Tina Lair-VanMeter finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
The two teams combined for 19 3-pointers with the Bruins going 11-for-26 from behind the arc.
Trailing by three, the Warriors used a 9-0 run to take an early 18-12 lead with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter. The Bruins responded with 3-pointers from Shareece Smith and Miranda Hennings to knot the game at 18 apiece.
The two teams traded 3-pointers as the contest remained tied at 21 at the end of the first quarter.
Christian went 3-for-3 from long range to pace WU with nine first-quarter points.
Five different Bruins nailed 3-pointers in the opening quarter as BU went 5-for-6 from behind the arc.
BU closed the second quarter on an 11-4 run capped by a 3-pointer from Ross at the buzzer as the Bruins took a 42-34 advantage into the intermission.
Bellevue had seven different players drain 3-pointers in the first half as BU went 9-of-16 from long range.
Ross led BU in the opening half with 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Winkler added six points and a pair of assists.
Christian paced the Warriors with 14 first-half points, going 4-for-5 in 3-point attempts.
Three 3-pointers by Oberthien ignited an 11-5 WU run to open the second half, drawing the Warriors to within two points at 47-45 with 4:55 left in the third. The Bruins countered with five-straight points from Ross in a 12-1 run as BU took a 61-48 lead heading into the final stanza.
The Bruins scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to push the advantage to 22-points (70-48) following a 15-foot jumper by Delaney VanBlaricon at the 6:35 mark. The Warriors never got closer than 20 points the remainder of the contest as BU earned the 78-52 road victory, closing the contest on a 31-7 run.
The Bruins will be idle until Tuesday, Feb. 2, when they will battle Waldorf University again. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on the BU campus.
