OMAHA, Neb. – The Ottawa University women's basketball team used a dominant second-half performance to earn a 68-41 victory over Bellevue University on Saturday afternoon. The Braves outscored the Bruins 37-11 over the final 20 minutes, improving to 4-1 on the season.
Dominique Schutte and
McKinley Kruger led Ottawa with 18 points apiece, while
Ashlynn Arnsman had with nine points and 12 rebounds. The Braves held Bellevue to just 23.4 percent shooting from the floor and limited the Bruins to four points in the fourth quarter.
First Quarter
Bellevue opened the scoring with a three-pointer before Arnsman put Ottawa on the board with a layup. Kruger followed with a three-pointer at the 6:45 mark, giving the Braves their first lead of the game, 5-3.
Sydney Kessler extended Ottawa's lead to 7-5 with a jumper, but Bellevue responded to tie the game at seven. Arnsman connected on a free throw to put Ottawa back in front, 8-7, with 2:23 remaining.
After Bellevue took a 10-8 lead,
Miranda Patterson tied the game with a layup with 31 seconds left. The Bruins answered with a three-pointer in the final 17 seconds to take a 13-10 advantage into the second quarter.
Second Quarter
Ottawa quickly erased the deficit as Schutte connected on a three-pointer just 24 seconds into the quarter, tying the game at 13. After Bellevue regained the lead, Schutte knocked down another three-pointer to even the score at 16.
Kruger gave the Braves an 18-16 lead with a layup at the 6:45 mark. Bellevue briefly moved back in front, but
Kiana Hostetler answered with a layup to put Ottawa ahead, 20-19.
Kruger added two free throws, and Schutte connected on a jumper to extend Ottawa's advantage to 24-21. After the Bruins tied the game at 24, Arnsman scored inside, and
Clare Williams followed with a three-pointer to give the Braves a 29-24 lead.
Schutte added a layup with 1:57 remaining to extend the lead to 31-27. Bellevue scored the final three points of the half, but Ottawa entered halftime holding a 31-30 advantage.
Third Quarter
The Braves took control of the game defensively in the third quarter, holding Bellevue to just seven points.
After the Bruins tied the game at 31, Kruger connected on two free throws to put Ottawa back in front. Schutte followed with a jumper, and another Kruger free throw gave the Braves a 36-31 lead.
Bellevue trimmed the deficit to three points, but Arnsman answered with a jumper to make the score 38-33. Kruger added a layup, and Kessler scored inside off an assist from Kruger to extend Ottawa's advantage to 42-35.
Kruger closed the quarter with two free throws, giving the Braves a 44-37 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Ottawa outscored Bellevue 13-7 in the quarter and held the Bruins to just 10 percent shooting from the field.
Fourth Quarter
Ottawa put the game away with an impressive offensive and defensive performance in the fourth quarter, outscoring Bellevue 24-4.
Williams opened the quarter with a three-pointer, and Patterson followed with another three to extend Ottawa's lead to 50-37. Schutte continued the run with a three-pointer at the 7:49 mark, giving the Braves a 53-37 advantage.
Kruger scored on a layup before Schutte connected on her fourth three-pointer of the game, pushing Ottawa's lead to 58-39 with 6:29 remaining.
Arnsman added two free throws, and Kessler followed with a jumper to extend the Braves' lead to 62-39.
Kiana Hostetler and Kruger added layups late in the quarter before
Addisen Wills scored the final basket with 34 seconds remaining.
The Braves shot 69.2 percent from the field and 80 percent from three-point range in the fourth quarter while holding Bellevue to just 7.7 percent shooting from the floor.
Ottawa closed out the 68-41 victory, limiting Bellevue to just 11 second-half points.
Inside the Box Score
- Dominique Schutte led Ottawa with 18 points, shooting 7-for-18 from the floor and 4-for-12 from three-point range. She also finished with four rebounds, three assists, and one block.
- McKinley Kruger finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists. She shot 5-for-13 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
- Ashlynn Arnsman scored nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She also dished out a team-high four assists and recorded two blocks.
- Clare Williams scored six points, connecting on 2-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc.
- Sydney Kessler finished with six points, three rebounds, and two blocks, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
- Miranda Patterson added five points and six rebounds.
- Kiana Hostetler contributed four points and six rebounds.
- Ottawa shot 41.7 percent (25-for-60) from the field, 32 percent (8-for-25) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the free-throw line.
- The Braves out rebounded Bellevue 47-29, including a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Ottawa held a 24-8 advantage in points in the paint and a 16-6 edge in second-chance points.
- The Braves scored 20 points off Bellevue's 15 turnovers while committing just seven turnovers themselves.
- Ottawa finished with 15 assists, five blocks, and four steals.
- Bellevue was led by McKenzie Napier with 12 points. The Bruins shot 23.4 percent (11-for-47) from the field.
- The Braves held Bellevue to just 11 points in the second half, including four in the fourth quarter.
Who is Next
Ottawa (4-1) returns to the court for the home opener against Missouri Baptist University on Wednesday, Nov. 11 in Wilson Field House. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
