BOX SCORE
NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In dramatic fashion the Royals women's basketball team won its sixth straight game by defeating Carleton College 52-51 Wednesday. Bethel University is now 6-1 on the season and 4-0 in the MIAC, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since the 1995-96 season. The Royals held a 48-46 lead with less than five seconds, but two Carleton free throws with 0:00.3 seconds remaining forced the two to finish the game in an extra period.
Bethel started strong when accumulating a 6-0 lead on two Kristi Nye (Jr., Brentwood, Tenn.) jumpers five minutes into the opening frame. The Royals maintained its lead all the way until the halfway point of the first period when the Knights tied the game at ten. From there Carleton put together its own streak, pushing past BU with a 17-12 advantage at the five-minute mark. The Knights pushed the lead to 11 with three minutes remaining, until Bethel cut into the lead to finish the period trailing by six 25-19.
Four players contributed four points in the opening 20 minutes, on 34 percent shooting from the floor. Its three-point shooting was dismal, finishing the first period 1-for-8 from downtown.
The second half was a different story for Head Coach
Jon Herbrechtsmeyer's crew as the Royals created 17 Carleton turnovers, which led to 12 BU points. Early in the second period the Knights stretched its lead to nine points and steadied themselves there until the 12-minute mark when leading 35-26. Come-from-behind rallies are nothing new for Bethel, however, and the Royals showcased its ability to overcome any lead over the next four minutes.
Taylor Sheley (Sr., Backus, Minn.) rattled five points home to go along with a pair of
Micaella Petrich (So., Rosemount, Minn.) free-throws, putting the Royals down two. Carleton was able to juice its lead up to five with 5:03 remaining, yet it was a 9-4 BU run that evened the score at 46 with 2:12 remaining. Bethel hit a jumper that gave them its first lead of the game since midway through the first half with 1:38 to play that looked to be the winning basket, yet a BU foul with 0:00.3 remaining on the clock allowed the Knights to hit two clutch free throws and send the contest into overtime.
In the overtime period Carleton took the one point advantage with three minutes to play, but a critical three-point shot from
Taylor Sheley put the Royals ahead for good 51-49. A missed Knight jumper with time expiring gave BU its sixth straight win 52-51.
Sheley came up big again after the halftime intermission, scoring 15 points and grabbing two boards. The senior guard finished with 19 points and five rebounds to go along with two steals.
Kelly Swenson (Jr., Dawson, Minn.) has continued to develop into a dual threat, as she dropped ten points, grabbed three boards, and dished out three assists.
Kiah Dahlquist (Fr., St. Cloud, Minn.) contributed notable help with six points and seven rebounds.
The biggest difference in Wednesday night's affair was the amount of turnovers BU was able to force and capitalize on post-intermission. The Royals also took advantage of its offensive rebounds, outscoring the Knights on second chance points 12-4.
Bethel has the opportunity to make it seven straight and make even bigger noise in the conference Saturday when it faces Saint Mary's in Winona, Minn. at 1 p.m.
