Atchison, Kan.— Spire basketball erased a 15-point deficit but lost 78-76 to the (RV) Benedictine College Ravens this afternoon on Saturday, October 31, in Atchison, Kansas, after a turnover with four seconds left denied the Spires a chance to take the lead. Abby Wendte led Saint Mary with 28 points.

Keely Barnard opened the Spires' scoring with a 3-pointer assisted by Wendte. Later, Wendte supplied a block and defensive rebound before Morgan Ruff hit a 3-pointer to cut Benedictine's lead to 17-11. The hosts stretched the margin to 12 before Cady Huffman's basket, assisted by Riley Kerwin, closed the first quarter with USM trailing 25-16.

The Raven's Storck's basket pushed Benedictine ahead 40-25 with 4:33 remaining in the second quarter, but Saint Mary held the hosts scoreless for the rest of the half. Wendte scored five straight points before Maecy Hinkebein converted a steal into a fast-break basket to make it 40-32. Ruff's steal later helped set up another Wendte 3-pointer, and Barnard made 1-of-2 free throws with 19 seconds left to complete a 13-0 run and bring the Spires within 40-38 at halftime.

Wendte tied the game at 42-42 early in the third quarter, then assisted on A'Myah Bankston's 3-pointer for Saint Mary's first lead with 8:15 remaining. Ruff answered a four-point Benedictine response with another 3-pointer, restoring a 48-46 advantage. The teams remained close through the quarter, with Benedictine taking a 62-61 lead into the fourth. Hinkebein put the Spires back ahead 63-62 with nine minutes remaining before Benedictine answered with an 11-2 run capped by Bruggeman's 3-pointer at 4:43.

The Spires rallied again behind 3-pointers from Barnard and Ruff. Wendte then scored following a Benedictine turnover to cut the deficit to 75-73 with 1:30 left. Bruggeman made two free throws at 58 seconds, however Wendte got the USM crowd on their feet as she connected on a fifth 3-pointer, assisted by Ruff, to pull the Spires within 77-76 with just 18 seconds remaining. The Spires had two final chances after Wendte's last second 3-pointer in what would be an exhilarating final few seconds of action. Ruff rebounded Bruggeman's second consecutive missed free throw with 16 seconds left, but Robinson stole the ball from Wendte and was fouled with four seconds remaining and made 1-of-2 free throws. Ruff secured another rebound after the miss with just seconds to send it up to Kerwin for a win at the buzzer, but the shot would just miss, sealing the ending for the Spires.

Abby finished 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range with six rebounds and three assists. Ruff added 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals, while Barnard contributed 13 points and five assists. Huffman supplied six points, six rebounds and two blocks, and Kate Harter added four points and five rebounds. USM shot 53.5% overall, made 12-of-24 3-pointers and converted 18-of-20 free throws, but Benedictine countered with 27 offensive rebounds and 24 second-chance points. The hosts also scored 29 points off the Spires' 27 turnovers. Bruggeman led Benedictine with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.


 
 
Coming Up…

USM women's basketball will be back in action on Wednesday, November 4^th as they travel to Lamoni, Iowa to take on Graceland University. Tip-off against the Yellowjackets is set for 6:30 p.m.