BELLEVUE, Neb. — In a battle for first place in the conference standings, Mayville State University built a 23-point first-half lead en route to a 77-67 victory over Bellevue University Friday night in North Star Athletic Association women’s basketball action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 14-9 on the season and 8-2 in the NSAA. MSU improved to 17-4 overall and 9-1 in league play.
Senior Asha Scott led the Bruins with 20 points and seven rebounds. Taylor Dement added 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Laura Jurek chipped in with 10 points, six boards, and four assists.
Jordan Zrust and Erin Walcker combined for 46 points to pace the MSU offense. Zrust recorded a double-double, finishing with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Walcker finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists.
Walcker scored the first eight Comet points as MSU raced out to an early 16-1 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. BU committed five early turnovers and did not make a field goal until the 4:30 mark of the first quarter.
Zrust scored four-straight points as MSU extended the margin to 18 points at 23-5 with 1:30 left in the first.
A fast-break layup by Dement at the buzzer made it 23-7 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Walcker scored 11 points in the first quarter as MSU took advantage of seven Bruin turnovers.
Three MSU 3-pointers to open the second quarter extended the margin to 22 points at 32-10 at the 6:33 mark.
The two teams traded five-point runs to keep the lead at 22 points at 37-15 midway through the second.
The Bruins never got closer than 19 points the remainder of the half as MSU took a 43-20 lead into the intermission.
Walcker led all scorers in the first half with 20 points, connecting on 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. MSU went 9-of-15 from long range in the opening 20 minutes of play.
BU was 8-of-30 from the field in the first half and 3-of-12 from long range.
The Bruins scored the first 12 points of the second half to reduce the deficit to 11 points at 43-32 at the 4:51 mark of the third quarter.
MSU didn’t score in the second half until Zrust drained a pair of free throws at the four-minute mark of the third quarter. Zrust finished the game going 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.
A 3-point play by Scott made it a 10-point contest at 45-35 with 3:39 left in the third.
After a steal and a layup by Dement cut the lead to single digits at 49-40, the Comets closed the third on a 6-2 run to give MSU a 55-42 lead heading into the final frame.
A 5-0 BU run capped by a 15-foot baseline jumper from Miranda Hennings reduced the deficit to eight points at 60-52 with 6:23 remaining in the contest.
The Comets responded with a 6-0 run, with the final five points coming on free throws, to give MSU a 14-point edge (66-52) at the 5:28 mark.
After a 3-pointer by Hennings made it a 10-point contest at 70-60, Zrust countered with five-straight points to put the game out of reach as MSU earned the 77-67 victory.
The Bruins will host Presentation College tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. in the final regular-season home game of the season. BU’s four seniors: Miranda Hennings, Laura Jurek, Faith Ross, and Asha Scott, will be honored following the contest.
