BELLEVUE, Neb. — Senior Faith Ross scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Bellevue University women’s basketball team to a 65-48 victory over Viterbo University in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The win kept the Bruins in a tie for the league lead as BU improved to 7-1 in the NSAA and 13-8 overall. Viterbo dropped to 5-15 on the season and 2-6 in league play.
Ross finished 8-of-11 from the field and was 4-of-6 from long range while adding five rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Ashtyn Arnold added 14 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Asha Scott finished with nine points and five boards in the win.
Sophie Leinfelder paced the V-Hawks with 15 points and four rebounds. Natalia Leguizamon added nine points (all in the first half), five rebounds, and four steals.
Ross scored nine first-quarter points, and BU shot 61.5 percent from the field to grab a 23-20 lead after the opening ten minutes of play.
Arnold scored on consecutive jumpers in the lane to extend the BU lead to 27-20 early in the second frame.
Both teams went cold, missing a combined 19-straight shots over a six-minute stretch until 3-pointers by Kaziah Terrell and Ross made it 33-22 with one minute remaining before halftime.
VU scored the final three points of the half to make it 33-25 at the intermission.
Ross led BU in the opening half with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Arnold and Miranda Hennings added six points apiece.
Leguizamon and Leinfelder both scored nine points to pace the V-Hawk offense in the first half.
BU shot 23.5 percent in the second quarter, and VU hit just 13.3 percent of their shots in the frame.
After a layup by Arnold gave the Bruins a 10-point lead, Leinfelder scored six-straight points to pull the V-Hawks to within four at 39-35 with 5:07 left in the third. The Bruins held Leinfelder scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
BU responded with a 3-pointer by Aminah Hall and five points from Ross to extend the margin to 12 points at 47-35 at the 1:43 mark of the third. Viterbo countered by scoring the final four points of the frame to make it 47-39 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The Bruins scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to push the margin to 19 points at 58-39 with 5:45 left in the contest.
After a 4-0 BU spurt gave the Bruins a 22-point advantage, the V-Hawks closed the game on a 7-2 run to make the final, 65-48.
The Bruins will host Waldorf University at 3 p.m. tomorrow (Jan. 28) in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
