The Beloit College women's basketball used a 29-14 first quarter bolstered by 16 points from senior Shelby Kline to lead the way to an 85-76 win over St. Norbert College Tuesday evening.
The win snaps a 19-game win streak for the Green Knights in the series between the two squads and marks the first win for Beloit over SNC since January 6, 2009.
The Bucs opened the game on a 7-0 run as Kline had the hot hand right out of the gate. She hit the opening three and a jumper less than two minutes in to give Beloit the 7-0 advantage. Kline also capped the first quarter with another long ball to send the Bucs into the second quarter with a 29-14 lead.
Kline was 4-4 from beyond the three-point arc and 5-6 from the field for 16 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Green Knights shot over 53-percent from the field and hit 3-5 from downtown to narrow the gap to 10, 47-37, at the half. The 47 first half points are the second most for the Bucs in a 20 minute span this season.
That margin held through the third quarter as the offensive efficiency dropped for both teams and each team put up 12 points in the stanza.
The Bucs' advantage hovered near double digits much of the fourth quarter until St. Norbert put together a run late in the period. After Candace Cunningham's jumper made it 75-65 with just over three minutes to play, the Green Knights went on an 8-2 run to narrow the gap to four, 77-73 with 42 seconds remaining.
Beloit iced the game at the free throw line making eight of their last 10 opportunities from the charity stripe to hold on for the win.
Kline ended with a game-high 25 points added five assists and two steals. Cunningham posted a double-double with 19 points on 7-11 from the floor and 5-6 from the free throw line adding 12 boards. She added five assists. Kelly Loudon and Danielle Strejc also made it into double figures scoring with 16 and 11 points respectively.
Up Next: Â Beloit will celebrate its seniors, Kline and Cunningham, as the Bucs' host Knox College Saturday, February 9. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. in Flood Arena.