Sterling, Kan. – The Bethany College Swedes Women’s Basketball team took a trip to Sterling, Kan. with hopes of getting revenge against the Sterling College Warriors who came to Lindsborg, Kan. and escaped with a 68-58 victory.
With a game full of scoring runs, it would be the Swedes who would get off to a hot start as Lilyan Walden opened the contest with a three-pointer on the Swedes first possession. Colbi Rignell and Walden would each score two more points to put the Swedes up 7-0. The Warriors would get it together and go on a 10-2 run and take a 10-9 lead, but the Swedes would get right back in it with an 8-4 run to close the period with a 17-14 lead.
The second period would feature more bulk scoring as the Warriors opened the period with a 12-3 run followed by 15-6 run in favor of the Swedes to keep the lead at three for Bethany.
Quarter three opened with a 7-0 Warriors run followed by 12-0 run for the Swedes, extending the Bethany lead to eight. Sterling would cut the deficit to four with a 13-9 run to close the period.
The final period is where the Swedes took off outscoring the Warriors 27-16 as Rignell and Walden both scored seven points in the period. Bethany would cruise out of Sterling, Kan. with an 83-68 victory to even the season series.
Colbi Rignell tied her career-high with 26 points while also dishing out a game-high seven assists. Lilyan Walden finished just under her career-high with 20 points while reeling in a team-high 7 rebounds and recording two blocks. Becca Unruh and Ray Richardson each poured in 12 points.
This time around, the Swedes were efficient from beyond the arc as Bethany would shoot 47.4% compared to the 17.4% they shot against the Warriors last time. Another big time stat in favor of Bethany was that they outscored Sterling 17-0 in points off turnovers.
Up Next…
The Swedes have another tough opponent this weekend in the Friends University Falcons (15-1) in the Garvey Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
