NEWBERG, Ore. – It didn't come easy but the Bethel women's basketball team held on down the stretch to pick up a 65-64 upset victory over No. 9/10 George Fox University Sunday evening to close out a two-game road trip in the Beaver State. The Royals defeated Lewis & Clark College Friday evening by a score of 85-41.

Closing out the non-conference portion of their schedule the Royals improve to 8-3 overall and heads back into MIAC play by traveling to St. Olaf on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Bethel 65, No. 9/10 George Fox 64
It was apparent from the opening tipoff that the two teams were in for a back and forth 40 minute affair. With neither team holding a lead of more than seven points it would come down to the final two minutes of play.

With 1:39 remaining Makenna Pearson's 3-pointer from the far side corner to make it 63-59 allowed the Royals to hold on down the stretch. Bethel reached the charity stripe with 35 seconds remaining where Haylee Barker missed a pair allowing the Bruins to cut it within one at the free throw line on the other end.

Hannah Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining before George Fox's Hailey Hartney drew a foul to sink both ends of a two shot foul to pull it back within one. Michaela Craigan missed both ends of a two shot foul with three seconds left but one last heave from the Bruins missed the iron to secure a road victory for the Royals.

The teams traded buckets early in the first quarter before George Fox pushed it to a seven point game. A pair of layups to go along with a pair of free throws by Elizabeth Schwarz helped the Royals to trail 24-20 after the first 10 minutes.

Cold shooting and turnovers plagued the early parts of the second. A layup by Johnson at the 7:14 mark gave Bethel its first lead of the game at 26-24. The Royals led by as many as five before taking a 35-34 lead into the locker room.

George Fox took back the lead in the third narrowly outscoring Bethel 16-13, but the Royals executed on both ends in the final period outscoring the Bruins 17-14.

Johnson led all scorers with 16 points and season-high 18 rebounds. Pearson and Taite Anderson both added 15 points respectively.

Bethel 85, Lewis & Clark 41
It was a record breaking night for both teams in a game that saw a two hour delay due to a scheduling error with the officials. On a positive note, the Royals defense came to play forcing the host Pioneers to a school-record 39 turnovers that turned into 44 points.

Junior guard Haylee Barker made her presence known on both sides of the ball tying a Bethel single game record 10 steals, a mark last done by Sue Duehn during the 1981-82 season, to go along with 15 points. 

Senior center Hannah Johnson added a game-high 21 points to go along with four assists and three blocks. Junior forward Taite Anderson added 18 points while Makenna Pearson scored eight points respectively.

The Royals opened up the game on a 12-3 run and never looked back from there. Shooting nearly 50 percent from the field in the first half, Bethel took a 36-20 lead into the break.

BU then exploded to outscoring the Pioneers 33-13 in the third quarter where they pushed their lead to 30 plus following a 3-pointer from Pearson at the 4:44 mark.
The Royals bench took over down the final stretch of the fourth as they added in 17 points in the 85-41 victory.