MINNEAPOLIS – In a tightly contested conference opener the Bethel University women's basketball team fell to Augsburg 70-68 Wednesday evening on the road. The Royals (3-1, 0-1 MIAC) were led in scoring by junior forward Taite Anderson as she posted a game-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Makenna Pearson chipped in with 11 points and three assists.

The Royals are back in action tomorrow night as they take on University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in non-conference action at 7 p.m. before returning home to take on Northwestern (MN) Saturday at 1 p.m.

Bethel trailed by as many as seven in the fourth before regaining the lead back at 63-61 with 3:10 remaining thanks to a 3-pointer from Anderson. A layup by Makenna Pearson extended the lead to four before Augsburg (5-1, 1-0 MIAC) came back to tie things up with a three and a free throw. The teams traded layups in the final minute before the Auggies were able to knock down a layup with nine seconds remaining.

Using a timeout to advance the ball down the court, Taite Anderson drove to the lane where she was fouled before knocking down just one of the two free throws. On the other end Augsburgs Arianna Jones, after missing the first free throw, knocked down the second giving the Auggies a 70-68 lead. Back to the charity stripe went Bethel with a second remaining follwing another timeout. Missing the first attempt, Anderson would miss the second in hopes of a put back to tie things up, but the Auggies were able to secure the rebound off the miss to end it.

The teams traded off buckets to open up play before the Royals went on a 7-0 run to close out the first quarter leading 17-9. Augsburg worked their way back in the second quarter tying things back up at 19-19 with 8:35 to go before the break. The teams continued to trade leads before the Royals took a narrow 32-30 lead into the half.