Martinez' career-night leads BU to 81-65 win over Waldorf
Sophomore Elexis Martinez poured in a career-high 27 points to lead the Bellevue University women's basketball team to an 81-65 victory over Waldorf University Saturday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Sophomore Elexis Martinez poured in a career-high 27 points to lead the Bellevue University women's basketball team to an 81-65 victory over Waldorf University Saturday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Bruins improved to 14-8 on the season and 5-2 in the NSAA. Waldorf fell to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Martinez added four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the win. Morgan Cuffe finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals, three blocks, and three assists. Shayla Dean was the third Bruin in double figures, collecting 11 points to go along with five assists.
Waldorf was paced by Ameh Ogbedmudia's 17 points and six rebounds. Taylor Fricke and Michaela Graffunder both finished with 13 points for the WU offense.
Martinez scored 14 first-quarter points, including an 8-of-10 performance from the charity stripe as the Bruins grabbed a 25-16 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
After Martinez opened the second quarter with a layup, the Bruins went scoreless over the next four minutes as the Warriors drew to within five points at 27-22 with six minutes left before intermission.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jurek and Dean highlighted a 10-point run as the Bruins expanded the lead 39-24 at the 3:08 mark of the second quarter. The Warriors got as close 11 points after a layup by Obgemudia before BU closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 49-33 lead into the intermission.
Martinez led BU in the opening half with 18 points and a pair of rebounds. Laura Jurek added eight points, two rebounds, and two assists. Obgemudia paced the WU offense with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
The two teams played evenly throughout the third quarter until the Bruins used a 7-2 spurt to end the stanza, giving BU a 70-49 advantage entering the final quarter.
The Warriors scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to draw to within 16 points but that was as close as the Warriors would get as BU cruised to the 81-65 victory.
The Bruins will battle this same Waldorf squad next Friday, Jan. 25, in Forest City, Iowa. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
