MANKATO, MN – Tonight was a big night for the Bethany Lutheran women's basketball program. They first celebrated their lone senior, Haley Sandin, who will finish her career as the most decorated women's basketball player of all-time. Additionally, their win over North Central University is their 20th of the season which is a new regular season record, surpassing last year's regular season mark of 19. Finally, Head Coach Lyle Jones recorded his 300th career win, all of which came as the head coach of the Bethany Lutheran women's basketball team.
 
The first quarter was fast-paced and the Vikings held a 22-16 advantage at the end of it due to a pair of three-pointers by Emily Skrien. The Vikings kept their foot on the gas pedal offensively in the second quarter, adding 19 more to their total. They also tightened up their defense and held the Rams to just 11 points giving them a 41-27 halftime lead. Emily Skrien added another three-pointer to her total and Abby Olson got in on the action by sinking two from deep. Olson led all scorers with 14 points at the break.
 
The up-and-down pace continued in the third quarter with the Viking outscoring the rams 22-21. Emily Skrien bumped her three-point total up to five and Laura Ellinghuysen added two of her own. The Vikings put the clamps on the Rams in the fourth quarter, limiting them to just 12 points while scoring 26 themselves. In the end, the Vikings came away with an 89-60 win.
 
Abby Olson led all scorers with 22 points. She also had nine rebounds and seven assists. Emily Skrien scored 22 points, going 6-10 from three-point range. Haley Sandin chipped in 13 points on senior night and added six rebounds and seven assits.
 
Haley Sandin is the only senior on the women's basketball team this year. Sandin is a three-time UMAC First Team All-Conference player, a UMAC Freshman of the Year award winner, a member of the UMAC All-Decade Team, and is Bethany Lutheran's all-time leading scoring.
 
Lyle Jones grabbed his 300th career win as a head coach tonight, all of them coming at the helm of the Bethany Lutheran women's basketball program. Coach Jones is the all-time wins leader in BLC history and is currently in his 17th season as the head coach.
 
Next Up: BLC has locked up the #2 seed in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament and will host #3 MN-Morris on Wednesday, February 20th at 5:30 PM.
 
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MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Dan DeWitt at 507-344-7856 or email ddewitt@blc.edu