ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Big time defense in the first half backed with a strong shooting performance set the pace for the third-seeded Bethel University women's basketball team to earn a 71-59 MIAC quarterfinals victory over sixth seeded Carleton.
The Royals head to St. Peter on Friday facing off with second-seeded Gustavus Adolphus. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Off the bench,
Kat Brown-Erdal picked up early steam scoring 11 of her game-high 17 in the first half.
Courtney Nuest added 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
Hayden Glander rounded out the top scorers with 14 as well.
Bethel (19-7) came out of the gates shooting an even 50 percent in the first half. Threes from
Makenna Pearson and Glander gave BU a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Royals worked it into paint where 18 of their 21 points in the second quarter came. Free throws by Brown-Erdal moved BU's lead into double digits with eight minutes to go. BU's defense was all over the Carleton (13-14) offense holding them to 33.3 percent in the quarter as the Royals went into halftime leading 41-19.
Neither team had a bucket through the opening 2:20 of the second half. Carleton then went on a 7-2 run pulling within 43-26. The Knights beat the third quarter buzzer leaving BU with a 53-34 advantage.
The Knights did most of their work at the free throw line in the fourth where they were 15-of-16. Bethel didn't have a ton of looks but took advantage of the few they did going 6-of-8 in the fourth.
