NORTHFIELD, Minn. – A strong first quarter both offensively and defensively paved the way for the Bethel University women's basketball team to an 83-58 victory at St. Olaf Tuesday evening.

Forcing 28 turnovers for the third straight contest and picking up 21 steals for the second consecutive game, the Royals remain perfect at 5-0 and are off to a 2-0 start in MIAC play. It's the third time under head coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer that Bethel begins the season with five straight wins as its next challenge comes against Carleton on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Tip off inside the Robertson Center is set for 7 p.m.

Senior Taite Anderson distributed her 21 points evenly between the first and second half. Freshman Kat Brown-Erdal was 8-of-19 from the floor scoring a career-high 20 points, 12 of which came from the 3-ball. Off the bench, Michaela Craigan sunk three 3-pointers in her 13-point effort. Haylee Barker added a game-high seven assists with Elizabeth Schwarz had a team-high eight rebounds.

Another fast start offensively helped the Royals gain an early lead. Makenna Pearson opened the game with a three which sparked the Royals to go 6-for-9 from long distance in the opening quarter. Full court pressure from BU forced the Oles into 12 turnovers which turned into 15 points jumping Bethel to a 27-11 lead after the first.

Neither team saw a run bigger than six in the second with the Oles taking half the amount of shots that the Royals did but connecting on 45.5 percent of them. Despite being scoreless in the final 90 seconds, BU took a 37-24 lead into the locker room.

The break didn't cool down the Royals as Brown-Erdal knocked down a pair of threes while the Royals scored on their first three possessions of the half. A 7-2 run in the third got the Oles within 12 before Bethel took a 62-46 lead into the final 10 minutes.

BU did a nice job of getting to the paint where they scored 16 of its 21 fourth quarter points. The Royals limited St. Olaf's second chance opportunities to one while creating four themselves. Free throws from Mackenzie Novak in the final second created Bethel's largest lead of the game.