DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Bethel University women's basketball team suffered its first set back of the season after a fourth quarter comeback effort came up just short against Wisconsin-Platteville, 61-57, at the Loras Tip-Off Classic.
 
Fifth-year senior Makenna Pearson led the Royals in scoring with 11 points, nine of which came from long distance. Freshman Courtney Nuest added 12 points off the bench and a team-high five rebounds. Megan Boegel rounded out the Royals top scorers with 10.
 
The Royals had 3-point shooting troubles from the start finishing the night a quiet 3-for-9 behind the arc. Bethel scored 38 of its 57 points inside the paint while only going 5-for-9 from the charity stripe.
 
Eight lead changes in the opening quarter saw neither team lead by more than a possession. A layup from Nuest with 6:33 to go in the second gave BU an 18-12 advantage. The Pioneers erased the Royals lead by no more than two until forcing BU into the locker room trailing 29-26.
 
UWP got to the charity stripe in the second half which was the difference in the game. The Pioneers got 11 of their 18 third quarter points from the line while Bethel couldn't buy a bucket from behind the arc.
 
Bethel faced its largest deficit at the 2:48 mark in the third trailing 47-37. A bucket in the paint for Anna Garfield pulled Bethel within two before a steal and a layup on the other end by Nuest tied it up at 51-51.
 
A 3-pointer from Pearson at the 3:48 mark in the fourth would be the Royals final bucket as UWP closed with six straight points all on free throws.
 
With a quick turnaround, the Royals look to bounce back Saturday afternoon against Wisconsin-Stout in Dubuque, Iowa at 2 p.m.