Box Score
The Bethany Lutheran women’s basketball team eked out a victory in their first home contest of the season, winning 62-60.
Jade Pelzl (Rushford, Minn. / UW-Eau Claire) hit the game-winning jump shot as time expired to give the Vikings their first win of the season.
Waldorf jumped out to an early lead and looked to control the game, leading by as many as 14 points. The Vikings were 4-8 on three-point attempts and 10-25 from the field in the first half. Waldorf got more shots off in the first half connecting on 17 of their 30 attempts. The Vikings trailed the visiting Warriors 40-29 heading into halftime.
The Vikings inched closer as the second half wore on, taking advantage of 32 attempts from the field and 16 uncontested shots from the foul line in the half. Bethany finally took a 59-58 lead with 1:42 remaining in the game. The Warriors took that lead away when they tied it back up with 13 seconds remaining in regulation. The Vikings inbounded the ball under their own basket with just over a second to play, and Pelzl connected for the game-winning field goal.
The Vikings held the Warriors to 20 points in the second half on 9-27 from the field and just three free throw attempts. Bethany had control of the glass in the second half with 11 offensive boards and 16 defensive boards compared to the four offensive and 12 defensive rebounds by the Warriors. Overall, the Vikings shot just 33.0 percent from the field compared to a 45.6 percent by Waldorf. The Vikings made six of their 14 attempts from three-point range shooting 42.9 percent in that category. Bethany was 18-24 from the charity stripe, attempting more than double the free throws the Warriors did.
Kasslin Swenson (Nicollet, Minn. / Nicollet) was a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line and led the Vikings with 22 points and 11 rebounds. It was Swenson’s first double-double of her collegiate career. Pelzl notched four assists and 16 points in the win. Aimie Wiechmann (Plymouth, Minn. / West Lutheran) led the bench with 8 points, shooting 2-4 from beyond the arc.
The Vikings will look to even their record to 2-2 when they travel to Storm Lake, Iowa to take on Buena Vista on Wednesday, November 28th at 6 p.m.
