ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Trailing by three with seven minutes to go the Bethel University women's basketball team finished on a 15-6 run prevailing over fourth-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College in the MIAC Semifinals, 70-62.
The win puts top-seeded and No. 9th-ranked Bethel in the MIAC Championship for the second time in program history where they will host second-seeded and No. 16th-ranked Augsburg Saturday afternoon inside the Robertson Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Senior
Taite Anderson became the program's single-season scoring leader as her 18-point effort gave her 528 points on the season. Fellow senior
Haylee Barker brought her senior leadership to the floor dropping 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Elizabeth Schwarz also added 12 points going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
It was a big moment for a freshman as
Emma Schultz knocked down a trey in the near side corner putting BU up four with 4:02 left in the game. The lead stayed at two possessions until
Kat Brown-Erdal and Anderson each knocked down a pair of late free throws to seal the victory.
Bethel opened the game on a 7-2 run before the Gusties found their rhythm on offense tying it up at 15-15 through the opening quarter. Gustavs lead a majority of the second with seven being its biggest advantage. A layup by Schwarz at the buzzer sent the two competitors into the locker room tied at 31.
The Royals hit four of their first five shots to start the second half gaining a 40-35 advantage. GAC hit the final two buckets dwindling BU's lead to 48-46 after three quarters.
A pesky defense in Bethel forced the Gusties into 29 turnovers with 15 steals. Brown-Erdal picked up four blocks while
Bella Williams collected eight steals. At the charity stripe BU shot 70.4 percent going 19-for-27.
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