WINONA, Minn.—Proving that they could win at home has come naturally for the Bethel University women's basketball team, as the squad is 16-1 since the beginning of last season. But winning on the road has been a challenge throughout that stretch and Monday night, the Royals quieted their naysayers with an unforgettable 51-47 come-from-behind victory over No. 14-ranked Saint Mary's University.
 
The Royals used an 11-2 run late in the second half to come from behind and top the defending MIAC Champions. In addition, BU limited SMU to 28.6 percent shooting throughout the night and outrebounded the hosting institution 46-35.
 
Play was exceptionally even throughout the entire game, however, Saint Mary's held a slim lead up until the six-minute mark of the second half. The Royals trailed by six with 9:15 left in the game, but an 11-2 run for Bethel gave the Navy and Vegas a three-point advantage with 3:54 remaining. It was Angie Kirchoff that broke the 43-43 tie with an and-one play to give BU the 46-43 lead.
 
The Cardinals regained the lead with a pair of free throws one minute later, but a Kalli Zimmermann layup two possessions later and a pair free throws by Hannah Niewald late in the game gave Bethel enough to secure the road triumph.
 
The Royals took advantage of the paint throughout the Monday night affair, as BU outscored Saint Mary's down low 24-16. Bethel was also able to acquire 18 points off the bench, opposed to SMU's 6. The Cardinals finished just 18-of-63 from the floor (28.6 percent) and 3-of-17 from long range (17.6 percent). Meanwhile, the Royals bucketed 20-of-51 shots (39.2 percent) from the field, including an 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) mark in the second frame.
 
Kalli Zimmermann led Bethel with 11 points and five rebounds, while Sydney Schultz caught fire from outside and added nine points on 3-of-8 shooting. Rachel Parupsky came up big in the paint by boarding 10 SMU shots and blocking five more. Hannah Niewald finished with six points and eight rebounds.
 
Angie Kirchoff led the Royals off the bench with seven points, while Lisa O'Connor added five points in just six minutes of play.
 
Bethel will now take a breather from loop play, as the Royals will not return to MIAC action until January 3, 2015, when they travel to St. Joseph to play Saint Benedict. In between now and then BU will take on four nonconference opponents, including two teams based out of California. Their first of those four games is tomorrow night against North Central University in Minneapolis.