No. 12 Chargers down Bellevue, 67-60

Box Score

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Ashtyn Arnold and Gabby Moore combined for 42 points, and Arnold pulled down a school-record 20 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the 12th-ranked Briar Cliff University women's basketball team handed the Bruins a 67-60 loss Monday night in non-conference action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

The loss dropped the Bruins to 5-3 on the season. Briar Cliff improved to 7-1 overall. 

Arnold scored 20 points to go along with her school-record 20 boards. It marked her second double-double of the season. 

Moore registered 22 points, going 8-of-19 from the field and 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. 

Mallie McNair paced the Chargers with 22 points and six boards. Grace Flanagan added 11 points and three steals. Rachel Langel finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.  

The Bruins hit 3-of-4 from long range in the opening quarter to establish an early 15-9 advantage in the first seven minutes of the contest. The Chargers scored the final five points of the quarter as BU took a slim 17-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. Moore paced the Bruins in the first quarter with five points. Arnold added four points and five rebounds. 

After two straight 3-pointers by McNair gave BCU a 26-20 lead, the Bruins responded with buckets by Arnold and Moore to cut the deficit to two points. The Chargers used a 7-0 run to take a 35-26 lead. Brandi Dunn's 3-point play just before the break made it 35-29 at the intermission. 

Moore led BU in the first half with 10 points. Arnold nearly recorded a double-double in the opening half, scoring eight points and pulling down 11 rebounds. 

Langel paced the Chargers with 10 first-half points, going 5-for-5 from the field. 

The Bruins were held scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half as the Chargers built a 10-point advantage. The Bruins battled back, going on a 10-3 run to pull to within three points following a 3-pointer by Moore, making it 42-39 with two minutes left in the third. The Chargers scored the final seven points of the third to make it 49-39 heading into the final frame. 

Bellevue could not get closer than eight points in the fourth quarter until five straight points by Josias Mickens drew the Bruins to within seven at 65-58 with 20 seconds remaining. McNair and Arnold both drained a pair of free throws in the final 17 seconds to make the final, 67-60. 

The Bruins will host Nebraska Wesleyan University at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.