PARKVILLE, Mo. – The Raven Women's Basketball team bounced back from a mid-week loss on Saturday as they earned a regular-season sweep over Park University.

After trailing at the end of the first quarter, Benedictine (10-5, 8-3 Heart) outscored the Pirates by eight points over the final three quarters to earn a 61-54 win.

Natalie Smaron scored the first basket of the second quarter to give the Ravens the lead. A 3-pointer from Park's Destiny Zamudio pulled the game even at 17 all with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. Benedictine went on to outscore Park 15-9 to take the lead to halftime. It was a lead, they never gave back as they pushed ahead by as much as 12 points twice in the fourth quarter.

A pair of free throws from Smaron pushed the Ravens ahead by 12 for the first time and then a basket in the paint from Ali Brzozowski with four minutes left to play gave the Ravens back a 12-point lead.

The Ravens took full advantage of 24 turnovers from the Pirates as they finished with a 17-9 advantage in points off turnovers. Benedictine also held a decisive advantage in second-chance points as they pulled in 14 offensive rebounds to outscore Park 16-2 on second-chance points.

Smaron led the Ravens in scoring for the fifth time this season, scoring a game-high 21 points with 9 rebounds. Brzozowski and Aaliyah Raines finished with 10 points each to round out the Ravens in double figures.

Benedictine is scheduled to play in Olathe on Wednesday against MNU, but the last two games for the Pioneers have been postponed due to COVID-19 mitigation by MNU. As of this release, no official word has been given on Wednesday's game. The Ravens return home on Saturday to host Baker University at 2 p.m.

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