Bellevue falls just short against Briar Cliff

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- In a game that went back-and-forth throughout the Bellevue University women's basketball team fell just short in a nail-biter against Briar Cliff University, falling 60-58 on Monday evening in non-conference action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

With the loss Bellevue falls to 6-5 on the year while Briar Cliff improves to 5-3 with their third-straight victory.

Marquel Harlan scored all nine of her points on fourth quarter three-pointers and Bellevue's desperation heave from half court fell short at the buzzer as Briar Cliff escaped with a road win. Bellevue had an inbound opportunity under the basket with six seconds to play but the referee – who was screened out by multiple bodies – called a tie-up to give possession to the Chargers. BCU then tried a full court pass but it was tipped out of bounds to give the Bruins one final chance.

BU got off to a quick start in the first quarter scoring the game's first five points on a three from Shayla Dean and a layup by Elexis Martinez. Three-pointers by Faith Troshynski and Abby Heston gave Briar Cliff a 7-6 lead at the 4:30 mark before Bellevue went on a 5-0 run over the next 1:30. With the score tied 13-13 Martinez converted a lay-up off a well-designed inbounds play under the basket to give the Bruins a 15-13 lead after one period of play.

Bellevue built a 27-20 lead, to match their largest of the half, on a dump down pass from Dean to Martinez with 1:55 to play. However, a turnover and three missed shots by the Bruins allowed Briar Cliff to end the half on a 7-0 run and tie the game 27-27 heading into halftime.

Martinez led the Bruins with 11 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds while Beth Walker, making her first appearance of the season, scored five points and pulled down five rebounds – three on the offensive end – in the opening 20 minutes.

Taylor Wagner had a team-leading seven points at the break for the Chargers who received six-point halves from both Johanna Vaske and Faith Troshynski.

Bellevue used a 7-2 run in a span of 2:17 to grab a three-point lead before eventually stretching that to five, 41-36, on a layup from Martinez with 1:04 to play in the third period.

With 3:32 to play in the game Dean and Martinez flipped roles with Dean hitting a three-pointer to tie the game, 55-55, off a Martinez assist. After trading baskets on the next two possessions Marquel Harlan drained a trey to put Briar Cliff up for good with just 1:57 to go. Caletria Curtis scored a free throw with 1:08 to play but neither team was able to score from that point.

Martinez finished with team-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bruins while Curtis added 11 points and seven boards. Walker matched the team rebound lead with eight to go with 10 points and Dean was the fourth Bruin in double-figures, scored 10 of her own. Taylor Cormier dished out a team-high six assists.

Briar Cliff was led by Vaske's 15 points and nine rebounds while Wagner finished with 12 points and a game-best seven assists.

The Bruins return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 29 when they travel to Vermillion, S.D. for an exhibition contest at NCAA Division I University of South Dakota. BU returns home on Saturday, Dec. 2 when they host Viterbo University in the conference-opener for both schools.