ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Freshman
Hayden Glander tallied her third double-double with a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Royals 78-59 win over Saint Benedict Wednesday evening. The Bethel University women's basketball team improved to 12-7 on the year and 11-5 in MIAC play thanks to a dominant effort in the paint where they outscored the Bennies 38-22.
Freshman
Courtney Nuest chipped in 16 points while
Makenna Pearson had eight.
Bella Williams matched a career-high nine rebounds with four points and two steals.
Bethel expanded on its early one-point lead with a 7-0 run. The Royals got hot from behind the arc as Garfield and Pearson hit back-to-back threes giving BU a 20-9 lead at the first break.
The Bennies cut BU's lead to five a minute into the second quarter. But the Royals opened up its advantage to 32-19 connecting from downtown on three of its next four possessions.
An offensive put back by Glander just before the halftime horn sent the Royals into the locker room up 40-23.
The Royals weathered a pair of runs by CSB including a 7-0 run to end the third where it was 59-46. BU showed no panic keeping its food on the gas pedal.
In the fourth they worked it down low to Glander while Nuest was scoring off the drive. 10 of Bethel's 19 points in the fourth came inside the paint, while the other nine were at the charity stripe.
BU finished 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the free throw line, its second-best percentage of the season.
The Royals cap out a three-game homestand Saturday against Saint Mary's at 1 p.m.
