ST. PETER, Minn.—The Bethel women's basketball team fell Saturday afternoon to Gustavus Adolphus College with a final score of 60-77. The Gusties (19-4, 13-3 MIAC) came in ranked third in the MIAC followed closely by the Royals (16-7, 11-5 MIAC). Bethel's Hannah Johnson had her way most of the night, but a slow third quarter cost the Royals the victory.

Bethel got out to a good start in the first quarter, both offensively and defensively. BU held Gustavus to just 35.3 percent shooting, while the Royals shot 50 percent from the field. Gustavus made a nice second quarter run headed by Mikayla Miller and Miranda Rice, who each put in eight a piece. Hannah Johnson scored 20 of her total 25 points in the first half to keep them in the game. Gustavus had a nine point lead going into the break.

Gustavus made halftime adjustments to try and slow down Johnson and it worked as they held her to just five points in the second half. The Royals as a team shot just 23.1 percent in the third framenand to make matters worse, they also turned it over six times. It was an even scoring effort by the Gustie starting unit and when the dust settled, Bethel found themselves down 42-64 going into the fourth.

The Royals never quit and they forced 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter alone and outscored Gustavus 18-13 in the final period. However, it wasn't enough for Bethel to come back as they fell and as a result, split the season series.

Notable contributions include Hannah Simpson and Haylee Barker, who both came off the bench and added seven points a piece. Johnson did more than fill up the scoring column as she also added 10 rebounds for yet another double-double.

Bethel will look to rebound when they face Macalester on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Robertson Center.