Bellevue closes Holiday Classic with loss to #4 Ozarks
College of the Ozarks defeated Bellevue 91-56 in the Holiday Classic; Beth Walker led Bellevue with 13 points and eight rebounds
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- College of the Ozarks shot 54.2 percent from three and attempted twice as many free throws as host Bellevue University as the Bobcats pulled away for a 91-56 win over the Bruins to close the Holiday Classic.
College of the Ozarks improves to 15-1 with the victory while Bellevue falls to 8-9.
The game was tight early, even tied 9-9 until the 3:20 mark of the first quarter but Ozarks took an 18-11 lead after one period of play which was aided by a 9-0 on in a span of just 2:35.
The Bruins hung around in the early portion of the second quarter but by the 4:16 mark the lead reached double figures where it would remain throughout the rest of the contest as the Bobcats carried a 39-24 lead into halftime.
Cassidy Johnson led all players with 18 points while Kelsie Cleeton recorded a double-double – 16 points, 10 rebounds – to go along with a game-high six steals and three assists for the Bobcats.
Beth Walker paced the Bruins with a season-high 13 points and eight rebounds, Elexis Martinez added 11 points and Caletria Curtis chipped in nine to go along with seven boards. Shayla Dean dished out six assists in the game.
The Bruins hit on 41.5 percent of their field goal attempts, which was their highest mark since a 47.1 percent effort back on Dec. 2 against Viterbo.
CofO capitalized on 16 BU turnovers converting them into 18 points on the offensive end while Bellevue managed just four points on eight Bobcat giveaways.
The Bruins held a slender 32-27 lead on points in the pain but saw their bench out-scored 33-20 and were out-rebounded 43-30 as a team.
Bellevue resumes NSAA play next weekend with games against Valley City State (Friday, 5:30 p.m.) and Jamestown (Saturday, 3 p.m.).
