ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—The Bethel University women's basketball team picked up a huge win over Saint Mary's University Wednesday night, as the Royals (14-8, 10-5 MIAC) handed the Cardinals (18-4, 12-3 MIAC) their third conference loss of the season in the Robertson Center. The 77-74 victory over SMU is Bethel's second consecutive over a team ranked No. 1 in the conference standings, as BU routed St. Thomas 80-60 in St. Paul on January 9.
 
Bethel opened the game on a mission, as they took a commanding 20-7 lead over the Cardinals in the initial quarter. SMU quickly responded with a 27-17 margin in the second frame; however, and trailed by three at the half. Bethel then expanded its 58-51 third quarter lead to 13 with 2:28 remaining in the game, but Saint Mary's recorded a 16-4 over the next 2:20 which brought the score to 75-74 with eight ticks left on the clock. A pair of clutch free throws by Angie Kirchoff with five seconds remaining sealed the victory for the Royals.
 
BU's bench came through once again, outscoring Saint Mary's 26-18. Moreover, Bethel outrebounded the Cardinals 47-43. Where the Royals really shined was defensively, as they held SMU to 13 percent shooting from long range (3-of-22) and 32.9 percent shooting from the floor (26-of-79). Meanwhile, Bethel finished the evening shooting 46.8 percent from the field (22-of-47) and 60 percent (6-of-10) from outside the arc.
 
Rachel Parupsky led the team in scoring with 14 points, six rebounds, and five blocks, which included an 8-of-10 performance from the free throw line. Kalli Zimmermann added 12 points and five rebounds, while Shanni Moorse just missed a double-double with 10 points, nine boards, and three blocks.
 
Reigning MIAC Player of the Week Micaela Meredith led all scorers with 16 points and seven rebounds for Saint Mary's.
 
At 10-5 against conference opponents, the Royals are now just one victory away from securing their sixth postseason appearance since 2009. They'll try and lock up that one win on Saturday, when they host St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. matchup that follows the men's game at 1 p.m. All alumni are invited back to participate in a half-time contest and post-game meal following Saturday's conference tilt.