ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—The No. 20 Bethel University women's basketball team got a career-high 26 points from Elly Schmitz in a 77-52 road victory over Macalester on Wednesday night.

The Royals move to 2-1, 1-0 MIAC following the 2025-26 MIAC opener, while the Scots fall to 1-6, 0-1 MIAC.

Bethel 77, Macalester 52

Bethel led from start-to-finish in a contest that saw them force 22 Macalester turnovers, and capitalize on 28 points off turnovers. 

Elly Schmitz paced the Royals offense with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting and a 4-of-8 clip from the three-point line. She also engineered a Royals defense with four steals. Next was Emily Erickson, who also had a career night in scoring with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting as well as two blocks. Rounding out the Bethel double figure scorers was Macey Littlefield, who had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. 

Colette Duininck paced Bethel with four steals, five rebounds, and five assists. 

The Royals shot .464 (26-of-56) from the field, and .389 (7-of-18) from the three-point line.

Sydnee Smith led Macalester with 17 points and eight rebounds. She highlighted a Scots team who mustered a .400 (22-of-55) field goal percentage.

The Royals will travel to St. Catherine on Saturday, December 6 for a 1 p.m. game.