CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Mount Mercy University took advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line while limiting their fouls on Saturday, snapping the 6-game winnings streak for Benedictine Women's Basketball.
The Mustangs outscored the Ravens by 9 at the free throw line, hitting 14 of 15 at the charity line while Benedictine went 5 of 5. The Mustangs also hit a season-high 10 3-pointers en route to the 82-72 win.
It took the Ravens just over 2 minutes to score their first basket of the game, a layup from Aaliyah Raines. By the time the Ravens scored their next basket, they trailed by 7. A series of 3-pointers from Alleigh Kramer, Nicole Storck, and Josie Weishaar erased that deficit and gave Benedictine a 16-14 lead. Defensively, the Ravens also held the Mustangs to just a pair of free throws over the final 3 minutes of the first quarter to take a 20-16 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
In the second quarter, Mount Mercy caught fire offensively hitting 10 of 12 from the floor with 4 3-pointers while hitting 5 of 6 at the charity stripe. Benedictine hit 8 of 19 from the floor while hitting 2 3-pointers but finished the first half without attempting a free throw as the Mustangs took a 45-38 lead into halftime.
Benedictine hit all 5 of the free throws in the third quarter, with Raines going 3 for 3 with Kramer going 2 for 2. The Ravens limited the Mustangs to just 6 field goals throughout the entire quarter but couldn't ever push through. The final free throw of the game of the Ravens tied the game at 57 inside the final minute of the quarter before the Mustangs hit their third 3-pointer of the quarter to lead 60-57 into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs were able to score in bunches, keeping the Ravens at arm's length throughout the period. Riley Rottinghaus hit a layup just under 3 minutes into the quarter to cut Benedictine's deficit down to four points and that was all the closer the Ravens would get as Mount Mercy went 5 of 5 from the charity stripe with 5 field goals to finish off the game.
Four Ravens scored in double figures, led by Raines with 13. Kramer added 12 while Rottinghaus and Weishaar finished with 10 each. Benedictine finished with a 13-8 advantage in points off turnovers and also had 22 second-chance points as they outrebounded the Mustangs 40-38.
Benedictine remains on the road Wednesday, traveling to Olathe to take on MNU at 5:30 p.m. before returning home on Jan. 13 to take on Graceland University at 2 p.m. back inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.
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