Box Score

MOORHEAD, Minn. – Bethel University's women's basketball squad dropped a road test at Memorial Auditorium to Concordia College Wednesday night in the MIAC opener. The Cobbers (2-2, 1-0 MIAC) jumped out to a 15-7 lead early on and the Royals (0-2, 0-1 MIAC) were never able to recover, falling by the final score of 61-48.
 
Bethel received an exceptional performance from its freshman forward Rachel Parupsky (Arden Hills, Minn.), who completed 7-of-14 shots for 15 points, while also hauling down eight boards and blocking three shots.
 
Trailing by 10 to start the second half, the Royals made a strong push to close the gap down the stretch. Parupsky posted a jumper in the paint followed by a 3-pointer from Katelyn Vavra (Jr., Askov, Minn.) that brought the score to 36-33 with 14:15 remaining in the competition. The Cobbers denied any futher chance of a comeback, boosting its lead to 14 over the next seven minutes, which eventually led to the 61-48 finale.
 
BU suffered in the paint Wednesday night, as Concordia owned a 45-26 advantage in rebounds, which led to a 16-2 margin in second chance points and 22-14 scoring in points in the paint. The Royals did outshoot the Cobbers, however, finishing with a narrow edge in field goal and 3-point percentage.

"There were some bright spots—especially in the second half," said head women's basketball coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer. "We need to be much tougher on the boards, however."
 
Assisting Parupsky was Alicia Montbriand (Sr., Alexandria, Minn.), who finished with nine points and four rebounds, while Kristi Nye Studanski (Sr., Brentwood, Tenn.) and Katelyn Vavra finished with eight and six, respectively.
 
Concordia's Emily Thesing led all scorers with 23 on 8-of-17 shooting.
 
The Royals will continue their road trip this weekend, traveling to Northfield, Minn. Saturday to take on Carleton College for a 1 p.m. tipoff followed by a 3 p.m. matchup between the men's teams.