V-Hawks overwhelm BU from deep in NSAA Quarters

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Viterbo University sank a dozen three-pointers on Wednesday evening to defeat the Bellevue University women's basketball 72-63, ending the Bruins' season in the North Star Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals.

Fourth-seeded Viterbo improves to 12-12 on the season and advances to Sunday's semifinal game, where they will face top-seeded Mayville State at 1 p.m.

Bellevue ends the season at 11-17 after struggling down the stretch.

Emma Wagner paced five V-Hawks in double figures with 16 points, knocking down a game-high five three-pointers. Macy Stellner (14, 5 assists, 4 steals), Marley Hughes (13 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists), and Emily McCurdy (13, 3 assists, 4 steals) each knocked down a pair of three-pointers. Nicole Johnson chipped in 11, grabbed six boards, and accounted for the final three-pointer.

Ashtyn Arnold dropped 12 of her team-high 17 in the first half and added six rebounds. Gabby Moore tossed in 16 points and Kaylee Denker scored 12 to go along with six boards and four blocks. Zakiyyah Muhammad contributed six points, two steals, and a game-high 12 rebounds off the bench.

Viterbo dealt the first blow as Wagner buried the first three of the night to key an 8-2 advantage out of the gate. The lead grew to eight before the midway point of the first quarter, but four points from Arnold – who scored 10 in the opening quarter – and a putback from Muhammad cut the deficit to 17-12 after the first.

After McCurdy opened the second, Bellevue out-scored Viterbo 12-6 to pull within a single point, 25-24, with 3:03 to play. Pearla Teko-Folly dropped in a bucket, and Stellner connected on a triple with 1:14 remaining, around a free throw from Aminah Hall, as the V-Hawks took a 30-25 lead into halftime.

Wagner and Hughes led the V-Hawks with nine and eight at the half, respectively, as the team shot 58% from deep in the first 20 minutes but just 27% from inside the arc.

Arnold scored 12 points on 4- 6 shooting and added five boards to lead the way for the Bruins in the first half. The offense was otherwise difficult to come by as the remainder of the team combined to shoot just 4-21 from the field and 0-9 from three.

Out of the break, Bellevue quickly erased that five-point deficit by utilizing a 17-5 run to snag a 42-36 lead with 3:38 to go in the third. Viterbo countered with nine-straight points to regain the lead, 45-42, before Denker hit a jumper to end the quarter.

BU and the V-Hawks traded mini-runs in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter before a 5-0 run sparked by a Stellner bucket and an old-fashioned three-point play from Hughes put the hosts up 67-57 with 1:05 remaining. Viterbo hit 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.