BELLEVUE, Neb. -- In a battle between the top two teams in the North Star Athletic Association, the Bellevue University women's basketball team saw their seven-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Dakota State University, falling to the Trojans, 86-75, Thursday night in the final regular-season contest of the 2020-21 season.
With the loss, the Bruins fell to 15-6 on the season and 11-3 in the NSAA. Dakota State extended its winning streak to 18 games, improving to 22-3 overall and finishing perfect in league play at 14-0.
On Senior Night, the Bruins' two seniors led the way with Jamie Winkler and Elexis Martinez combining for 37 points. Winkler scored a season-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, while adding five assists. Martinez finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists. Junior Taeha Pankey was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 12 points while adding six assists and three steals.
Morgan Koepsell came off the bench to lead the Trojans with a game-high 23 points while adding seven boards. Jessi Giles added 18 points and was 4-of-7 from long range. Courtney Menning and Lexi Robson chipped in with 13 points apiece for the DSU offense.
The Trojans got off to a quick start highlighted by an early 9-0 run to take a 24-16 lead after one-quarter of action. Led by Giles' 3-of-3 effort from behind the arc, DSU shot 61.5 percent from the field and was 4-of-6 from long range. Giles and Menning combined for 16 first-quarter points for the Trojans. Martinez (6) and Winkler (5) combined for 11 points to lead BU in the opening 10 minutes of action.
The two teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second stanza before five-straight points by Delaney VanBlaricon tied the game at 31-31 with 4:08 left before halftime. The Trojans responded with a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to take a 41-33 lead at the 2:28 mark.
Winkler and Martinez combined for a 5-0 run to draw the Bruins to within three points before Koepsell's five points in the final minute helped DSU take a 46-40 lead at the intermission.
Winkler led BU in the opening half with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Martinez added 10 points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists.
Koepsell was 7-of-10 from the field in the first half, finishing with 16 points along with four rebounds. Giles scored 11 first-half points thanks to three triples.
Both teams shot well in the opening half with DSU holding a 58.6 to 51.7 percent advantage in field-goal percentage. The Trojans were 6-of-12 from behind the arc, while the Bruins drained 4-of-15 3-point attempts.
Giles scored five-straight points as DSU opened the second half on a 9-3 run to extend the lead to double digits at 55-43 with 7:23 left in the third. After a Martinez layup brought BU to within 10, the Trojans countered with five-consecutive points, pushing the margin to 15 points (65-50).
Consecutive 3-pointers by Winkler and Pankey brought BU to within 11 at 66-55 with just under a minute left in the third, before DSU settled for a 68-56 advantage heading into the final frame.
The BU defense held DSU scoreless for the first 2:30 of the fourth quarter as Winkler and Martinez brought the Bruins to within seven (68-61) with 7:36 left in the contest. After a triple from Shareece Smith closed the margin to five points, capping an 8-1 run, neither team scored for nearly three minutes.
After not recording a field goal for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, the Trojans scored 10-straight to increase the margin to 15 points (79-64) with three minutes remaining in the game.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Miranda Hennings and Pankey and a layup from Laura Jurek brought BU to with seven points at 79-72 at the 1:42 mark.
The Trojans nailed 5-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds to preserve the hard-fought 86-75 victory.
Official sites and pairings for the NSAA Tournament will be announced on Friday. The No. 2-seeded Bruins will host a first-round contest on Tuesday, Feb. 18, beginning at 5:30 p.m. against either Waldorf or Presentation.
