BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Taylor Dement nailed one-of-two free throws with two seconds remaining as the Bellevue University women's basketball team withstood a furious second-half comeback by Mount Mercy University as BU escaped with a 75-74 victory in the final game of the Chick-fil-A Classic Saturday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins, who led by as many as 15 points in the second half, improved to 2-0 on the season with the victory. MMU dropped to 1-1 overall.
Kaylee Denker led five Bruins in double figures with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field while adding seven rebounds. Dement finished with 15 points, three assists, and a steal. Gabby Moore registered 13 points and a pair of assists. Ashtyn Arnold recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Dru Zoucha was the fifth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds, and a pair of assists.
Claudia Vanzant paced the Mustangs with 16 points and 12 boards. Malie Marfil collected 15 points and four steals. Annika Headington finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
After the Mustangs grabbed an early five-point advantage, BU responded with five straight points from Moore in an 8-0 run as BU took a 14-11 lead with 2:49 left in the first quarter. A steal and a layup by Dement gave BU a 17-13 lead at the end of the first frame. Moore and Dement paced the Bruins with five first-quarter points apiece.
The Bruins scored the first five points of the second to extend the margin to nine points at 22-13. Triples by Zoucha and Moore helped BU push the margin to double digits at 33-22 with 3:15 left before the intermission. MMU responded by closing the half on a 7-3 run to make it 36-29 at the break.
Moore hit three 3-pointers in the first half, leading the Bruins with 11 points. Marfil paced the Mustangs with seven first-half points and a steal.
After a short jumper by Headington cut the BU lead to five, the Bruins reeled off nine straight points to expand the margin to 14 points at 45-31 with 7:26 left in the third quarter. The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the stanza, and a layup by Denker at the buzzer gave BU a 58-43 lead heading into the final frame.
After the Mustangs scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to slice the deficit to 10 points, the Bruins answered with four points by Dement in a 6-2 BU run to gain a 64-50 lead at the six-minute mark. MMU sliced the lead to single digits following an 8-0 run. The Mustangs used a 7-0 run capped by a deep 3-pointer by Vanzant to tie the contest at 72-all with 40 seconds left in the game.
A baseline jumper by Arnold gave BU a 74-72 edge with 17 ticks remaining in regulation. MMU tied the game nine seconds later on a jumper in the paint by Marfil. Dement drove the lane during the ensuing play, forcing a foul. She missed her first free shot before downing the second, giving BU the dramatic 75-74 victory.
The Bruins will travel to Hillsboro, Kan., next Friday-Saturday, Nov. 8-9, to compete in the Tabor College Classic. Bellevue will take on Bethany (Kan.) on Friday at 5 p.m. and wrap up the tournament with a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday against host school Tabor.
