Defense, rejections lead Bruins past Grace
BU out-scored Grace 32-13 in points off turnovers and 20-4 in fast break points en route to an 80-58 win
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Ryleigh McCartney scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Bellevue University women's basketball team to a comfortable 80-58 non-conference victory over Grace University on Wednesday evening at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The win was the third in a row for the Bruins who improve to 6-3 on the season. Grace saw their three-game win streak come to a halt as they fell to 4-3 overall on the year.
The Bruins made three-pointers on each of their first three possessions to race out to a 9-0 lead and kept the Royals at arms-length throughout the game. Grace closed to within a basket at the 3:25 mark on a lay-up but the BU responded with an 11-0 to close the first quarter before taking a 45-29 lead into halftime.
Bellevue kept their lead in double figures for the entirety of the second half and wound up with a 22-point win to show for their efforts.
The Bruins' 13 blocked shots as a team set a new program-record. Last year, against Doane (Nov. 12), Saint Mary (Nov. 25), and Midland (Dec. 29), Bellevue blocked nine shots on three occasions.
McCartney's 19 points led Bellevue with Caletria Curtis (14), Elexis Martinez (11), and Riley Galvin (10) all reaching double-digits. Galvin's 10 points were a career-high.
Martinez and Curtis paced the Bruins on the boards with eight rebounds apiece. Martinez stood out on the defensive end, matching a career-high with four blocked shots and setting a new personal-best with four steals.
Shayla Dean led BU with seven assists to go along with her five points and five boards. Taylor Cormier added four assists to go along with her eight points.
Karen Orozco scored 13 off the bench to lead four Royals in double-digits. Darielle Evans, Marisa Brown, and Majesty Pelletier each scored 10 points with Brown also pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds for a double-double.
Next up for Bellevue is a 5:30 p.m. game in Peru, Neb. against Peru State College on Friday, Nov. 17. The Bruins return home on Monday, Nov. 20 to host Briar Cliff University at 6 p.m. at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.