MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran women's basketball team got out to an early lead over Martin Luther and never looked back en rout to an 82-60 victory. With the win the Vikings move to 4-10 overall and 2-1 in the UMAC while the Knights fall to 5-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play. 



After both teams got off to a slow start with the Knights lead 4-2 over four minutes into the first frame, the Vikings would start to right the ship. Alexis Cloyd would get an and-one that would spark an 11-0 run for Bethany as they took a 13-4 lead that they would turn into a 22-6 advantage after one quarter of play. The Vikings would carry their momentum from the first into the second as they were able to slowly build upon their lead throughout the second frame and led 41-20 at the half.

In the second half, MLC would start to mount a comeback, using a 12-4 run early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 15. The Vikings would keep them at bay though as they would have an answer each time the Knights seemed to be edging closer and they held a 61-43 lead heading into the fourth. After a basket from Martin Luther closed the gap to 16 to start the frame, five straight points by Bethany would push the lead to 21 and the visitors couldn't muster a comeback as the Vikings held on for the victory.

Ashley Schindele had a strong game for Bethany with 21 points to go along with six rebounds. Skylar Cotten also put forth an all-around effort, as the senior had 12 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in just 23 minutes of play. The Vikings struggled to shoot it from deep in this one, going 4-of-27, but were able to make 18 shots from the charity stripe to help take the win.

The Vikings are back in action next Friday when they travel to North Central for a 7:15 matchup.