No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan earns 77-57 win over Bruins

Box Score

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The 11th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team used 28 points from Jada Campbell to earn a 77-57 victory over Bellevue University in non-conference play Wednesday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

The loss snapped BU's five-game winning streak as the Bruins fell to 6-5 on the season. DWU improved to 7-2 overall.

Laura Jurek led the Bruins with nine points, five assists, and four rebounds. She hit her only two shots of the contest, both from behind the arc while draining 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Ashtyn Arnold added nine points, two rebounds, and two assists. 

Campbell went 12-of-19 from the field and was 3-of-3 from the free-throw line while adding five rebounds. 

Matti Reiner finished with 13 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Lacey Sprakel was the third Tiger in double figures, registering 12 points after going 4-of-6 from the field.  

The Tigers closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run, and BU went scoreless for over four minutes as DWU took a 22-13 after the opening 10 minutes of play. Reiner led the Tigers in the first frame with seven points and two boards. Arnold went 3-for-4, scoring six points to pace the BU offense in the first quarter.

Campbell nailed two-straight jumpers as DU hit four-consecutive shots to build a 30-18 advantage with 5:30 left in the first half. After the Tigers extended the lead to 16 points at 34-18 following another short jumper by Campbell, BU reeled off five-straight points capped by a 3-pointer from Jurek to slice the advantage to 11 (34-23) at the four-minute mark.  

The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes as BU missed four-straight shots, giving DWU a 40-23 lead with 2:23 left before the intermission. 

The two teams traded baskets as the Tigers took a 42-25 lead into the halftime break. 

Arnold led BU in the opening half with eight points and two rebounds. Jurek and Faith Ross scored six points apiece. 

Campbell led the Tigers in the first half with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field while adding four rebounds. Reiner added nine points, four rebounds, and four assists. 

The Tigers hit six-straight shots to build a 53-31 lead five minutes into the second half. A seven-point DWU run sparked by a 3-pointer from Campbell pushed the margin to 26 points at 62-36 with 1:39 remaining in the third. After trading buckets, a free throw by Asha Scott made it 64-39 heading into the final stanza. 

Six-straight points to open the fourth gave the Tigers a 70-39 advantage with eight minutes remaining in the contest. 

The Bruins battled back, scoring eight-straight points, including consecutive 3-pointers by Taylor Dement and Aminah Hall to cut the deficit to 23 points at 70-47 at the six-minute mark.  

After four-straight free throws by the Tigers, BU went on a 7-0 run highlighted by four points from Dement to pull to within 20 points (74-54) with 2:48 remaining. 

A 3-pointer by Hall made it an 18-point contest (75-57) at the 1:54 mark. 

A layup by Mya Wilson broke a nearly seven-minute field-goal drought for the Tigers, pushing the margin back to 20 points with 1:24 left in the game. 

Neither team scored again as DWU earned the 77-57 victory. 

The Bruins will travel to Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday, Dec. 10, for a 1 p.m. contest at St. Ambrose University.