KISSIMMEE, FLA.—A top-20 matchup was in the cards as the No. 19 Bethel University women's basketball team faced No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan for the first time ever on Day One of the Winter Shootout in Kissimmee, Florida for a rare Sunday-afternoon game. The Royals had the upper hand in shooting (.667, 28-of-42 - .473 26-of-55), three-point shooting (.667, 8-of-12 - .353, 6-of-17), rebounding (19-18), assists (12-7), blocks (2-1), and bench points (26-4). However, the Titans prevailed in the category that matters most by a 76-74 score highlighted by Sara Balli's game-winning layup with 00:02 remaining.

The Royals fall to 7-2 and see their win streak end at seven, while the Titans improve to 8-3.

Illinois Wesleyan 78, Bethel 76

Bethel struck first off Rosalie Penke's three-pointer that gave her team a 3-0 lead with 9:35 on the first-quarter clock. That was the Royals' lone lead of the opening quarter despite having the upper hand in shooting .750 (9-of-12) - .667 (8-of-12) in a frame that ended with a 24-21 Titans lead.

Bethel's defense held the Titans to .167 (2-of-12) shooting in the second quarter. That, combined with Elly Schmitz' eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 field goal percentage powered the Royals to a 17-6 advantage in the second quarter, which led to their 38-30 halftime lead.

Cally Peterson's jumper with 8:45 left in the third quarter gave Bethel their largest lead of the game at 40-30 before Illinois Wesleyan came from behind and forced three lead changes over the final stages of the frame, and found themselves in front 56-54 heading into the final 10:00.

Illinois Wesleyan maintained that lead until Macey Littlefield converted back-to-back layups with 00:37 and 00:20 left, respectively, which put Bethel in front 76-74 and provoked a Titan timeout.

That timeout paid dividends as the Titans outscored the Royals 4-0 behind Ava Bardic's layup with 00:15 remaining, and a Bethel turnover that led to Sara Balli's layup with 00:02 left that sealed a 78-76 win.

Littlefield paced Bethel with 18 points off the bench, followed by 17 from Penke. Emily Erickson had 15 points and four assists, while Elly Schmitz' perfect 6-of-6 shooting mark led to 12 points.

Bardic paced Illinois Wesleyan with 20 points, while Balli had 19. Sawyer White led IWU with three assists along with 15 points.

The Royals will face Messiah on day two of the Winter Shootout in Kissimmee, Florida tomorrow, Monday, December 29 at 12 p.m. (ET).