DULUTH, Minn. – In a near wire-to-wire lead, the No. 25th-ranked Bethel University women's basketball team cruised to a 74-34 victory at St. Scholastica Wednesday evening.
Elly Schmitz led all scorers with 20 points, two shy of matching a season high, while bringing in seven rebounds, five blocks, four assists, and three steals.
Emily Erickson dropped 18 points off the bench in 17 minutes of action.
Rosalie Penke finished with nine points and five boards, while
Anna Garfield finished with nine points.
The win improves BU to 20-4 on the year for its third 20-win season in the last full six seasons and first since 2019-20. The Royals are 16-1 in MIAC play.
The Royals shot 52.7 percent from the field while holding the Saints to a season-low 22.4 percent. The Royals knocked down six of their 12 attempts from three while St. Scholastica only connected on one of its 12.
The Royals opened on a 12-2 run as the Saints scored on their opening possession. Penke accounted for seven of those 12 points before Schmitz had seven of BU's last 13 in the quarter as they led 25-10.
The Saints didn't score until the 6:48 mark of the second as the Royals opened the advantage to 31-12. Bethel's defense didn't allow a field goal in the final five and a half minutes in the half, taking a 44-15 lead into the locker room.
A layup by Erickson off a pass from
Cally Peterson with 2:52 left gave BU its largest lead of the game at 73-30.
BU's defense held the Saints to a combined five field goals in the second half and held them without a field goal through the final 3:07 of the game.
UP NEXT
Bethel concludes the regular season on Saturday, hosting Saint Benedict with a shot at the MIAC regular season title with a win over the Bennies. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. with senior day festivities set to happen during the pregame.
