BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team battled back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, forcing overtime, before eventually downing William Woods, 67-60, in non-conference action Saturday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 4-4 on the season. WWU fell to 5-2 overall.
Gabby Moore led four Bruins in double figures with 15 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Brandi Dunn added 14 points and five boards. Ashtyn Arnold produced 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Aminah Hall was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 points along with six boards and a pair of steals.
Kaylee Denker tied a school record with 15 rebounds. She also added eight points in the victory.
Natalie Thomas led all players with 20 points. Aiyanna Tanksley recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
After the Bruins opened the game with a quick layup by Denker, four different Owls scored in an 11-3 run. as WWU gained an 11-5 lead five minutes into the contest. Zakiyyah Muhammad scored four points in an 8-3 BU run as the Bruins narrowed the deficit to one at 14-13 just under the two-minute mark of the first quarter. A short jumper by Ruthie Brown and a layup by Mariah Prince in the final 40 seconds of the first frame made it 18-13 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
WWU scored eight straight points to open the second quarter as the Owls expanded the advantage to 26-13. Moore scored six points in an 8-0 BU run as the Bruins cut the deficit to five at 26-21 with 2:23 left before the intermission. The two teams traded buckets in the final minute, and Arnold drained two of three free throws with a tenth of a second left as BU trailed 28-25 at the break.
Moore led BU in the first half with eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Mariah Prince paced the Owls with 12 first-half points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
Bellevue shot just 23.5 percent from the field in the opening half, including a 1-of-9 effort from beyond the arc. WWU struggled as well, shooting 38.7 percent in the first half of play.
After a triple by Denker tied the contest at 28-all one minute into the second half, the Owls went on a 12-2 run, capped by seven-straight points by Thomas, giving WWU a 40-30 lead. After the Owls built a 14-point cushion, the Bruins scored the final three points of the quarter as WWU took a 46-35 edge heading into the final quarter.
Bellevue drained three straight 3-pointers during an 11-1 run, cutting the deficit to one point at 49-48 with 5:28 left in the contest. After a layup by Tanksley gave WWU a 54-50 lead, Dunn connected on her second 3-pointer of the night to once again make it a one-point game (54-53) at the 2:26 mark.
After a jumper in the paint by Jersee Wren, BU countered with a 3-pointer by Delaney VanBlaricon to tie the contest at 56 with 52 seconds left in regulation.
Thomas drilled a pair of free throws with 29 seconds remaining to give the Owls a 58-56 lead. The Bruins responded with a jumper in the paint by Hall, tying the game at 58 with 21 seconds left. A missed jumper by Thomas at the buzzer forced the game into overtime.
BU scored the first five points of the extra period, including a 3-pointer by Moore, then traded baskets as BU maintained a five-point advantage at 65-60 with one minute remaining in OT. The Bruins drained 2-of-4 free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the 67-60 victory.
The Bruins will travel to Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Dec. 6, for a 5:30 p.m. exhibition contest at the University of Missouri - Kanas City.
