BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Senior Miranda Hennings drained eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Bellevue University women's basketball team to a decisive, 79-60, victory over visiting Iowa Wesleyan University Friday night in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott Classic being played in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 7-7 on the season. IWU dropped to 9-5 overall.
Hennings' eight triples ranks second in school single-game history. She finished 8-of-9 from behind the arc.
The Bruins hit 15-of-27 3-pointers in the victory.
Senior Asha Scott registered 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Senior Delaney VanBlaricon scored nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from long range while adding six rebounds.
Sophomore Taylor Dement added nine points and seven assists.
Senior Faith Ross hit a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with eight points along with four rebounds and two blocks.
Senior Laura Jurek became the first player in school history to record eight-or-more assists in back-to-back games after finishing with nine assists in the win.
Isabell West paced the Tigers with 16 points and nine boards. Megan Teal added 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.
Trailing 19-11 with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter, the Bruins scored 10-straight points over the next two minutes, capped by a 3-pointer from VanBlaricon to take a 21-19 lead. The Tigers scored the final five points of the quarter to grab a 24-21 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Hennings led BU in the first quarter with six points after going 2-for-2 from long range. West paced IWU with nine first-quarter points.
After a 3-pointer by Hennings made it a one-point game at 27-26, IWU scored seven straight to push the advantage to eight points at 34-26 with 4:20 left in the second. BU got as close as four points following a short jumper in the paint by Scott, before the Tigers settled for a 38-32 halftime advantage.
IWU was led in the first half by Kyla Moore and West, who both registered nine points. Brielle Baker added eight points and a pair of rebounds. The Tigers scored 14 points off BU turnovers in the opening half.
Hennings paced the Bruins in the first half with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range.
The Bruins scored the first five points of the third quarter to pull to within one point at 38-37 and took their first lead at 45-42 following another triple by Hennings with 5:13 left in the third frame.
The two teams traded buckets the remainder of the third until consecutive jumpers in the paint by Shelby Little and Scott gave the Bruins a 52-46 advantage heading into the final stanza.
The Bruins opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run sparked by consecutive 3-pointers from Hennings and Ross to give BU a 14-point cushion at 60-46 with six minutes remaining in the contest.
Six-straight points capped by a 3-point play from Jurek gave BU a 17-point lead, and Hennings' eighth 3-pointer pushed the margin to 19 points (76-57) with 1:23 left in the game as BU cruised to the 79-60 win.
The Bruins will resume conference play next Friday, Jan. 6, when they entertain Dickinson State at 5:30 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
