Box Score MORRIS, Minn. - The Bethany women's basketball team held a halftime lead on the road against the first place team in the UMAC, but the Minn.-Morris Cougars proved why they have lost only one conference game with a strong second half performance to defeat the Vikings 68-55 Saturday afternoon.

Bethany took a lead at 13-11 following a Briana Brandts jumper with 8:46 left in the first half and would not trail again for the remainder of the half. The lead would get to as high as seven after a Rachel Sorensen basket made it 23-16 with 2:55 left. Bethany would lead 25-20 at the break.

Five minutes into the second half, the Cougars trailed by four at 36-32 before going on a 12-1 run to take control of the game as their lead would grow to double digits. The Cougars outscored the Vikings 48-30 in the second half and outshot BLC 48-28 percent.

Brandts had another stellar outpoint with 24 points and 13 rebounds and was 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

The loss combined with a Martin Luther win at Crown put the Vikings a game behind the Knights for the fourth and final playoff spot with one weekend left to play. Bethany (7-16, 6-6 in UMAC) is on the road again to face St. Scholastica on Friday.