NEW ULM, Minn. - Sheridan Kennedy's offensive rebound and acrobatic jumper in the lane on the final possession resulted in a thrilling 60-58 victory at Martin Luther on Wednesday evening. Bethany women's basketball improves to 7-10 overall with its fifth win in the past six games, and has started the UMAC schedule 4-0 for the first time in four seasons. 

The Knights took a 9-4 lead midway through the first quarter before Juliana Ewald hit a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions to gain an 11-9 advantage. Martin Luther regained a one-point lead on a free throw to end the quarter up 14-13. 

The home squad maintained the lead for a majority of the second quarter before Brea Mertz made a three with 57 seconds left to go ahead 24-23. The Knights made a layup on their final possession of the half and took a 25-24 lead into the locker room.

Morgan Hulke made a three for the first bucket of the second half, which gave the Vikings a lead they did not relinquish. Following a Martin Luther three-pointer at the 4:01 mark of the third, Kennedy answered with a jumper to spark a 10-2 run to end the frame up 46-36. Hulke made a pair of threes during the scoring spree. 

The Knights did not go quietly, eventually tying the game 58-58 on a three with eight seconds remaining in regulation. After a Viking timeout, Amelia Walker took the sideline inbound pass to the rim and missed the contested layup, but Kennedy grabbed the offensive rebound and hit the game-winning shot while tripping over players in the lane. 

Megan Wegner led the offense with 15 points, including three from long range. Hulke added 13 points with four treys and a team-high seven rebounds. After shooting 15.4 percent in the second quarter, the Vikings shot 53.3 percent in the third and finished the game at 39.3 percent. 

Bethany returns home Saturday afternoon to host North Central. 


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