STORM LAKE, Iowa – Buena Vista made five 3-pointers in the third quarter to break open a one-point game as the Beaves defeated the Nebraska Wesleyan women 71-62 in Iowa Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3) in Storm Lake, Iowa.
BVU moves to fifth place in the IIAC standings while NWU falls to 13-9 overall and 4-9 in the IIAC to remain in seventh place in the league with three games remaining.
The Prairie Wolves led 14-13 after one quarter, then the Beavers held a one-point advantage at halftime leading 28-27. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half and the two teams combined for 24 first half turnovers. The lead changed nine times in the first 20 minutes with neither team able to pull away.
In the second half, the Beavers came out firing from long distance. BVU went 0-11 from 3-point land in the first half, but made 6-13 in the second half including five made 3-pointers in the third quarter. BVU outscored the Prairie Wolves by nine points in the third quarter to hold a ten point advantage after three.
NWU stayed within striking distance and cut the lead down to six points on a 3-pointer from
Audra Thramer with 5:10 remaining in the game. NWU would make just one field goal the final five minutes as they unable to get any closer. BVU scored only six points in the final five minutes with the two teams making only three field goals combined during the final minutes.
Four BVU players reached double figures in scoring as they shot 51.5 percent in the second half to end the game at 43.8 percent. Holy Schneider led the way with 19 points with Morgan Muhlbauer getting 17. McKenna Whitehill had 13 points and Claudia Larsen finished with a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Nebraska Wesleyan shot just 33.3 percent from the floor in the game, including 7-27 from 3-point land. They were outrebounded by seven and committed 19 turnovers.
Caitlin Navratil led the way with 17 points, four assists and four steals playing 37 minutes.
Macy Gustafson was the other player in double figures with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
NWU will try to rebound on Wednesday when they host Loras College trying to get into the top six for postseason consideration.
