Box Score
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The first time the Bethel Royals and St. Thomas Tommies tipped off against each other, the Royals came away with a huge 65-33 win. Tonight, the basketball gods saw it fit to balance things out between the two teams as the Tommies turned the tables and defeated the home team 72-52.
Bethel opened up a five point lead early in the game, but the lead didn't last beyond the five minute mark of the first half, nor did the Royals ever regain it. The Tommies frustrated the Royals with their defense and Bethel never really had a chance to gain any momentum on offense. The Royals made less than a third of their shots from the field tonight and less than half of their free throws in the contest.
Annegret Nautsch (Sr., Everett, Wash.) was the leading scorer for Bethel with 12 points, and for the first time in five games, she did not have a double-double as foul trouble limited her playing time. The starting center corralled just six rebounds, but did add four more blocks to her nation leading total. Reigning MIAC Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Autumn Beasley (Fr., Medina, Minn.) scored 10 points as Bethel's second leading scorer. She also had two rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
Shana Grejtak (So., Franklin, Minn.) had the high rebound total for the Royals with 12 and she contributed seven points to the Bethel cause.
St. Thomas had five players post double-digit figures, led by both Kassie Robinson and Jordyn Sears with 13 each. However, it was Jessica Katch that did the most damage tonight as she had 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals, and three blocked shots. Becky Theisen and Dee Prioleau rounded out the Tommie top scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The loss drops Bethel to 12-10 overall and 11-8 in conference play, dropping them to sixth place with just three games remaining. However, the Royals still hold a two game edge over both St. Catherine and Carleton who are tied for seventh in the MIAC standings heading into the last part of the season. St. Thomas moves to 16-6 overall and 14-5 in the MIAC to stay in third place. The Royals will try to regroup and hit the floor running when they are scheduled to take on Augsburg on the road in Minneapolis this coming Saturday at 1 p.m. for their next game.
