BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Emma Passa drained a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining as Mayville State University pulled out a dramatic, 69-68, victory over the Bellevue University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the loss, the Bruins moved to 8-12 on the season and 1-4 in the NSAA. The Comets improved to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Elexis Martinez led the Bruins with 24 points and four rebounds. Asha Scott added 16 points and nine boards. Ashtyn Arnold came off the bench to register eight points and three rebounds.
Mackenzie Hughes and Jordan Zrust scored 16 points apiece to pace the Comet offense. Erin Walcker added 13 points and four rebounds. Danneka Voegeli was the fourth Comet in double figures, finishing with 11 points along with four rebounds.
The Bruins shot just 36.1 percent from the field in the loss, including a 2-of-17 effort from behind the arc.
After the two teams traded five-point runs to open the contest, the Bruins closed the first quarter on a 16-3 run highlighted by six-straight points from Martinez to take a 21-8 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Martinez led BU in the opening frame with 11 points and two rebounds.
MSU shot just 21.4 percent in the opening quarter and was 1-of-6 from long range while committing six turnovers.
The Comets used a 5-0 run to slice the lead to single digits at 25-17 midway through the second frame. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half until a layup by Danneka Voegeli made it a seven-point contest, at 33-26, at the intermission.
Martinez paced the Bruins in the first half with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
CJ Decker and Walcker led the Comets in the opening 20 minutes with five points apiece.
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half with BU holding a slight advantage, 36.4 to 34.5 percent. BU was 1-of-11 from behind the arc while MSU was 2-of-12 from long range.
An 8-2 MSU run to open the third quarter made it a one-point game at 35-34 at the 7:49 mark. Back-to-back layups by Zrust gave MSU its first lead since early in the first quarter at 41-39 with 4:31 left in the third.
A pair of free throws by Zrust pushed the Comet cushion to five points at 48-43 at the two-minute mark. A deep 3-pointer Zrust at the buzzer made it 51-44 heading into the final frame.
MSU outscored the Bruins, 25-11, in the third quarter.
After a layup by Zrust made it a nine-point contest, the Bruins used a 9-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from Miranda Hennings to draw to within one point at 54-53 with 7:27 left in the contest.
Back-to-back buckets by Scott and a driving layup by Martinez gave the Bruins a 60-56 advantage at the 4:39 mark.
The Comets responded with consecutive layups by Voegelli to knot the contest a 60-60 with 4:22 remaining.
Scott scored four-straight to give BU a four-point edge at 64-60. After a layup by Martinez kept the lead at four, a deep 3-pointer by Hughes made it a one-point game at 66-65 at the 2:35 mark.
The two teams traded a pair of free throws to make it 68-67 in favor of the Bruins with 41 seconds remaining.
After being fouled by Martinez, Passa calmly drilled two free throws with five seconds remaining to give the Comets a 69-68 advantage.
Scott missed a layup as time expired to give the Comets the one-point victory.
The Bruins will host Viterbo University at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 21, in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
