Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The Bethel Royals can enjoy Thanksgiving a little more this coming weekend after winning their first game of the season over the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars 77-68 at the Robertson Center gym tonight.

The two teams played to an almost even draw in the first half, with the Royals heading to the locker room with a one point advantage at 37-36. In the second half, however, Bethel slowly began to pull away with a diverse scoring attack, making some clutch free throws down the stretch, and by creating points off of turnovers.

All-MIAC center Annegret Nautsch (Sr., Everett, Wash. - pictured right) earned her first double-double of the season and nearly had her second career triple double, compiling 22 points, 12 rebounds, and nine blocks. Newcomer Shana Grejtak (So., Franklin, Minn.) scored 12 points off the bench as Bethel's next highest scorer. Two other Royals had double-digit point performances, as Kristen Wolters (Jr., St. Cloud, Minn.) and Autumn Beasley (Fr., Medina, Minn.) each had 11 points.

Nikki Washek led the way for Morris, amassing 16 points, five steals, and three assists. Tynell Kocer and Steph Roggenbuck had 13 and 10 points, respectively, as the next leading scorers.

As a team, Bethel shot better than 50 percent from the floor, while Morris made slightly more than one-third of their shots, giving Bethel a strong defensive rebounding advantage at 28-19. The two categories that favored the Cougars were turnovers and free throw percentage, as they only missed two shots from the charity stripe all night.

The win gives Bethel a 1-0 start heading into the Thanksgiving break, while Morris drops to 0-4 overall on their season. The Royals are scheduled to return to action next Wednesday, Dec. 3, when they travel up to St. Joseph to take on the Saint Benedict Blazers at 7:30 p.m.