ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – After winning eight straight games, Bethel University's women's basketball has slipped in its last two games falling Saturday to the Oles from St. Olaf 43-36. Neither offense really got going throughout the contest, but Bethel failed to muster any short of rhythm from the floor finishing Saturday's matinee with a shooting percentage of 25 percent.
The visiting Oles led throughout the majority of the first half, owning its highest lead of five points, 17-12 with 9:49 remaining in the period. Bethel slowly worked itself back to even and eventually took its only lead of the game with 5:37 to play 19-17. The lead was short-lived, however, as St. Olaf finished the frame with the 24-23 lead.
The Oles found much of its success in the paint, outscoring BU 14-8 in the opening 20 minutes. The Royals capitalized on five points off turnovers, as
Leslie Handzus (Fr., Lakefield, Minn.) and
Taylor Sheley (Sr., Backus, Minn.) led Bethel with six points each. Handzus hit back-to-back three pointers pulling the Royals to within one.
The second half featured the same play, as the scoring margin between the two squads never went beyond four points until the seven-minute mark. At that point Sheley hit two field goals to bring the Royals within two points with 4:10 remaining, yet BU managed to score just one more point the rest of the way.
St. Olaf continued to control the paint in the second period, outscoring the Royals 12-4. The Royals still outscored the Oles in points-off-turnovers, however, it wasn't enough as the Northfield, Minn. team finished the game ahead 43-36.
Sheley led all players with 14 points, adding five rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and two assists.
Micaella Petrich (So., Rosemount, Minn.) finished 3-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe with ten total points.
The Royals will take off Monday in an effort to forget the two-game skid and move on to the rest of the season. BU's next opponent will be Saint Mary's Wednesday at the Robertson Center Gym. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
