MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Lutheran women's basketball team (6-1 overall, 6-1 UMAC) defeated North Central (16-3, 7-1) 88-69 Monday night to win the second-consecutive regular season UMAC Conference Championship. This also marks the second regular season title in program history for the Vikings.

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The win halted the Rams' 10-game winning streak, and BLC extends its lead in the all-time series to 20-0.

Senior Abby Olson (Montevideo, Minn.) had 27 points and classmate Hanna Geistfeld (Truman, Minn.) joined her in double digits with 26 points. She added a double double with a career-high 12 assists. Geistfeld's 12 assists marked a new single game school record, as she surpassed the 11 from Nicole Jones against Northwestern on Feb. 16, 2011.



The Rams jumped to an early 7-2 lead in the first four three minutes of the contest. A triple from Olson knotted it at 13 all with 2:50 left in the frame. A trey from freshman Ashanti Boykin (St. Paul) gave Bethany its first lead of the game, which it never relinquished.

The Vikings led 23-16 at the end of the first, 48-36 at halftime, and 67-47 after the third. BLC led by as many as 23 midway through the fourth quarter.  

BLC owned the team advantages in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds, and assists. The Vikings tallied 30 assists, which tied the single game school record, as this was previously accomplished against Martin Luther on Jan. 23, 2019.

Bethany has clinched the No. 3 seed in the UMAC tournament and will host a quarterfinal contest Thursday against Martin Luther. Game time is to be determined.

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