OSHKOSH, Wis. – The No. 23rd-ranked Bethel University women's basketball team saw its season come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after falling to No. 11th-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 59-49.
 
Elly Schmitz capped out the season with a double-double effort, where she dropped 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Off the bench, Emily Erickson chipped in 14 points while Anna Garfield finished with 13.
 
Garfield closes out her Bethel career with 1,205 career points (13th all-time), 593 rebounds (11th all-time), 228 assists (9th all-time) and 210 steals (5th all-time).
 
Bethel held the Titans to their fourth-lowest shooting percentage of the season at 37.9% while shooting 40.9% themselves. Oshkosh went 9-of-22 from 3-point range while the Royals were just 1-of-7.
 
Bethel trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before getting within 53-49 following a three from Schmitz and a layup from Erickson. The Royals went cold and went without a bucket from that point. Wisconsin-Oshkosh knocked down two more threes in that stretch, putting it out of reach.
 
Trailing 49-38 at the end of the third, Erickson scored BU's first five points of the fourth getting them within 49-43. UWO didn't get their first bucket until the 6:02 mark on a 3-point play.
 
The Royals were down 35-26 at the break after struggling from the field in the second quarter where they were outscored 15-8. Both teams came out of the gates knocking down shots. Colette Duininck's runner in the lane in the opening 90 seconds gave BU its only lead of the night at 4-2. From that point, Oshkos narrowly outscored BU the rest of the first 18-14 to lead 20-18 at the first break.
 
The Royals finish the season 23-6. The .793 winning percentage is the third-best in the NCAA era of Bethel women's basketball.



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