MANKATO, Minn. - In front of a packed house the Bethany Lutheran women's basketball team Saturday night would see five players in double figures as they defeated Carleton 83-65 to open their season. With the win the Vikings begin the season 1-0 while the Knights start 0-1. 

Juliana Ewald would lift the Vikings early as the sophomore would score five points in the opening minutes to help them to an 11-5 lead just three minutes in. A few minutes later Kenadi Arndt would get her first collegiate basket before knocking down a free throw less than a minute later to make the score 19-11 with three minutes to go. The two teams would go cold from there, with neither making a basket the remainder of the quarter and three total made free throws making the score 20-13 after 10 minutes of play. 

Carleton would score the first eight points of the second quarter to take a 21-20 lead before an Ewald three ended the spell and put Bethany back on top. Carleton would respond with six straight to go up 27-23 before Arndt started to make her mark. The freshman would score six points in the half's final six minutes to help the Vikings close it out on a 12-2 run and hold a 35-29 lead at the break. 

After both teams would trade baskets to begin the third, the Vikings would start to run away with this one as they would mount a 17-2 run after scoring on 8-of-9 possessions with Gianna Klarenbeek scoring the run's final eight points to put Bethany up 56-36. Neither team would gain much momentum either way the remainder of the quarter as the Vikings took a 63-44 advantage to the fourth.

With a big lead in the fourth quarter the Vikings were able to put it in cruise control, as seven different players would score in the game's final 10 minutes and Bethany would claim the 83-65 win.

Klarenbeek and Arndt led the Viking scoring efforts off the bench with 18 and 14 points, respectively, and Arndt also adding 10 rebounds for a double double. Ewald, Aubrea Kor, and Amelia Walker also finished in double figures with Ewald tallying 12 and Kor and Walker 11.

Bethany will be back in action next on Wednesday, when they travel to Augsburg for a 7 p.m. contest.