BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Despite a career-high 25 points from Gabby Moore, No. 23-ranked College of the Ozarks got a combined 55 points from Susanna Moran and Kalyley Frank, as the Bobcats earned a 79-69 victory over Bellevue University in BU's opening game of the Fairfield Inn Bruin Classic being played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 6-7 on the season. Ozarks improved to 12-3 overall.
Moore finished with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including a 5-of-10 effort from beyond the arc. She also added six rebounds and three assists.
Kaylee Denker finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Ashtyn Arnold recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, along with six assists.
Moran paced the Bobcats with 34 points and 14 rebounds. She was 14-of-18 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. Frank registered 21 points and five rebounds while going 5-of-7 from long range.
A 3-point play by Zakiyyah Muhammad and four-straight points from Shelby Little ignited a 16-8 BU run as the Bruins built an early 19-10 advantage in the first quarter. The Bobcats ended the opening quarter with seven straight points and scored the first 10 points of the second frame to take a 27-19 lead.
A deep 3-pointer by Moore and a pair of free throws by Aminah Hall brought the Bruins to within two points at 34-32 with 3:08 left before the intermission.
Ozarks answered with eight straight points fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Frank, giving the Bobcats a 42-32 edge at the two-minute mark before settling for a 43-34 lead at the halftime break.
Arnold led the Bruins in the first half with eight points, five rebounds, and three assists. Moore added eight points and a pair of assists.
Moran (16) and Frank (15) scored 31 of Ozarks' 43 first-half points. Moran was 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the opening half.
After the Bruins pulled to within six points following a pair of free throws by Moore, the Bobcats went on a 10-3 spurt to take a 59-46 lead with one minute left in the third frame. Moore responded by scoring five straight points, including a late 3-pointer, to make it 59-51 heading into the final stanza.
BU sliced the deficit to six points following a layup by Little, making it 73-67 with three minutes remaining in the contest. The Bruins were held scoreless until Moore hit a 15-foot jumper with nine seconds remaining, making the final score, 79-69.
The Bruins will conclude the tournament tomorrow (Dec. 30) with a 5 p.m. contest against Haskell Indian Nations University in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
