ST. PAUL, Minn.—Bethel University's women's basketball team continued their five-game winning streak thanks to Saturday afternoon's 65-57 victory at St. Catherine University. The Royals' (8-4, 3-2 MIAC) bench outscored the Wildcats (6-7, 2-4 MIAC) 29-14, which proved to be a critical component in BU's eight-point triumph.
 
One significant reason to Bethel's successful bench play was senior Jasmin Bretoi, who finished the weekend matinee with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a 7-of-11 effort from outside the 3-point arc, in 29 minutes played.
 
The Royals trailed the Wildcats 26-35 with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Bretoi narrowed BU's deficit to three. Bretoi later netted a bucket inside the arc and another triple to help give Bethel a 45-40 lead going into the final frame.
 
The five point-lead was stretched to 11 with 6:58 remaining, but SCU went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to make the score 58-57 with 1:59 left in the game.
 
Cue Jasmin Bretoi once again. The senior guard swished a triple to give Bethel a four-point lead, which was enough to draw the Wildcats into a fouling situation. Hannah Johnson finished 4-for-4 at the charity stripe in the final 29 seconds, which sealed the critical road win.
 
BU finished the game shooting 38.6 percent from the floor, 36.0 percent from downtown, and 80 percent from the foul line. Those numbers were greatly amplified in the second half when Bethel shot 46.4 from the floor and 50.0 percent from long range.
 
In addition to Bretoi's career performance, Hannah Johnson helped the Royals with her fifth double-double of the season. Johnson tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks. Taite Anderson added 11 points, five steals, three assists, and two rebounds, and Abby Miller posted nine points.
 
Bethel's season continues Wednesday, January 10, when they play host to Augsburg University in just their second home contest of the season. The Auggies and Royals are slated to tipoff at 7 p.m. in the Robertson Center Gym.