Bethel leads wire-to-wire to maintain the third spot in the MIAC standings. Next game is Saturday at home versus Macalester College.
By Sam Johnson
As the Bethel Royals women’s basketball team held tight to the third spot in the MIAC standings Wednesday night, their next challenge pitted them against Carleton Knights, who came into the game winless in the conference.
The Royals won 100-52 in a game it led from start to finish.
Bethel jumped out to an 11-1 lead within the first four minutes of the game. From the opening tip, the Royals sprinted down loose balls and trampolined for offensive rebounds. By the end of the quarter, Bethel had a 12-point lead, fueled by eight offensive rebounds in a game where they totaled 18.
The second quarter played out like much of the first. Carleton’s turnovers ignited Bethel’s fast breaks. A 21-4 run helped the home team extend the lead to 52-25 at halftime.
After the break, Carleton could not buy a basket even if it were on sale. The Knights’ first field goal came at the 4:40 mark of the quarter, preceded by numerous turnovers. The visitors had 33 turnovers, compared to the home team’s 11 and the lead ballooned to 78-39 by the end of three.
“I felt our defensive effort was really good all night,” coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer said.
By then, the starters had done their damage.
Senior center Hannah Johnson led all scorers with 21 points, while sophomore forward Elizabeth Schwarz came off the bench and had a game-high 13 rebounds and Haylee Barker had a game-high 5 assists. Junior forward Taite Anderson and sophomore forward Makenna Pearson chipped in with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
Carleton’s Cece Leone scored 17 points and Annabella Jensen had 14.
The game ended with the final score being 100-52. A wire-to-wire win for a team looking to peak at the right time. The Royals are now 7-4 in the conference and 13-5 overall while Carleton dropped to 0-11 and 3-15.
“We didn’t dip down to our competition tonight,” Herbrechtsmeyer said. “Our goal is to get better every game out so that when we get into the playoffs, we play at our highest level.”
