Denker's buzzer-beater gives BU first FC win

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Kaylee Denker's elbow jumper at the buzzer gave the Bellevue University women's basketball team a 70-68 win over Valley City State University on Friday evening in Frontier Conference play at the BU Fieldhouse.

With the win, BU nudges back over the .500 mark, improving to 5-4 while picking up their first Frontier Conference victory, moving to 1-3 in league pay. Valley City slides to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Frontier Conference.

How It Happened:

A back-and-forth first quarter saw the lead chance hands a couple of times. Valley City led by as many as five, 8-3, on a basket by Abby Aslesen at the 5:40 mark. Bellevue responded with a 14-6 run to close the period to take a 17-14 lead after one.

Bellevue continued their run early in the second quarter, scoring eight of the first 10 points, to push their lead 25-16 on a layup from Dru Zoucha with 5:57 remaining. Bellevue made just one field goal the rest of the half. A 10-0 run from the Vikings gave them a lead when Ellie Powell sank a pair of free throws with 1:34 left. Danielle Coyer drained a triple to put the Bruins back in front briefly but JayCee Richter scored with 22 seconds left to give Valley City a 30-29 lead at the break.

The see-saw battle continued in the third quart with Bellevue tying the game on an and-one conversion by Kaylee Denker at the 5:09 mark. Richter hit a jumper at the other before an 8-0 BU run capped by threes from Emma Russell and Zoucha to go up 47-41 and a 6-0 run at the end of the quarter saw Bellevue take a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

Joy Beran scored a layup by Valley City closed to within four points early in the quarter following a 7-0 run. Three-pointers from Russell and Zoucha stretched the advantage back to double figures but the Vikings ran off another 7-0 run to make it a one-possession game with 3:18 remaining.

A layup from Richter with 31 seconds left tied the game. Beran answered for BU with a layup at the other end with 12 seconds to play and Richter again tied things with six. Bellevue called a timeout to advance the ball and set up a play. Denker took the inbound and as the play broke down, she ripped the ball through and drove to her strong side, hitting a jumper from the right elbow as the horn sounded.

Top Performers:

Bellevue University

Danielle Coyer: 14 points, 4-7 FG, 8 rebounds, 1 block
Dru Zoucha: 14 points, 4-5 3-FG, 3 rebounds (2 offensive)
Kaylee Denker: 13 points, 6-8 FG, 10 rebounds, 1 block
Emma Russell: 12 points, 4-6 3-FG, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Joy Beran: 6 points, 7 rebounds (5 offensive), 5 assists

Valley City State University:

Abby Aslesen: 18 points, 7-14 FG, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
JayCee Richter: 14 points, 7-11 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Ellie Braaten: 11 point, 5-11 FG, 5 assists, 4 steals

Inside the Numbers:

Bellevue out-rebounded Valley City 38-34, improving to 5-1 in games in which they out-rebound their opponent.

The Bruins finished 46% from the floor to VCSU's 39% effort from the field.

BU shot a season-high 57% from beyond the arc (12-21) in overcoming a season-worst 28-turnover performance.

The Bruins held the Vikings to just 4% (1-23) from deep, the second-best three-point defensive effort in program history. Bethany was 0-15 on Nov. 12, 2022.

Bellevue improves to 4-0 when making 10+ threes, 5-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points, and 4-1 when scoring 70+ points.

Up Next:

The Bruins look to pick up another Frontier Conference victory tomorrow when they host Mayville State University for a 5 p.m. tip.