BELLEVUE, NEB – The 14^th ranked Mayville State University Comets led at the end of the first and second quarters Monday night in Bellevue, Neb., but it was the homestanding Bruins who came out loaded in the second half, sliding past the Comets 87-78 in North Star Athletic Association action at the Lozier Athletic Center in Bellevue.
"We played hard," Comets head coach Dennis Hutter said. "We just had a bad third quarter. I think we ran out of gas."
Kylee Heurung gave the Comets the early 3-1 lead just 27 seconds into the game, off of Claire Blascziek's defensive rebound after a missed Bellevue free-throw just 10 seconds in. Blascziek passed it to Cyan Hale, who found Heurung wide open for the game opening three points for the Comets. Less than a minute later, Hale increased the lead to four points with a layup in the paint.
Less than two minutes in, Hale increased the lead to 7-3 on back-to-back free throws, but Khalilah Holloway pulled Bellevue back to within two points.
Heurung and Faith Ross traded buckets, pulling the Bruins to within two points with 7:19 to go in the opening quarter.
Bellevue tied the game at 9-9 with 6:44 to go, but Jordan Zrust gave the Comets the lead back just 39 seconds later, as she took advantage of a Blascziek steal. That was part of an 8-0 run that saw the Comets pull ahead 17-9.
The second quarter started with a bang, as Blascziek picked up a defensive rebound and went down and threw up a three-pointer, which sunk, giving the Comets the eight-point advantage just 1:28 into the second quarter. The Bruins, however, fought back and pulled the game to within three points with 7:59 to go in the half, causing Hutter to call a timeout to regroup the Comets.
They responded immediately, as Heurung nailed a layup inside to make it a five-point game, only to be answered by Elexis Martinez on the next transition down the court.
Martinez, moments later, pulled the Bruins to within one point, sinking a pair of free-throws with under seven minutes to go in the half.
A three-point play by Heurung was followed up by back-to-back buckets by Bellevue, tying the game with 5:28 to go in the first half.
Bunting, less than a minute later, gave the Comets the lead 33-31, a lead that grew to 35-31 with a layup by Bunting.
Hale extended the lead to six points with over two minutes left in the half, but Brittany Hill's three-pointer with 2:02 left brought the game back to a one-possession game. With 1:17 left, Faith Ross's layup made it a one-point Comet lead.
Timely as ever, Hale nailed a three-pointer in the closing minute of the half, and the Comets took a four-point lead into the third quarter.
Ross gave the Bruins the lead with 8:11 to go in the third, on a three-point jumper, on a pass from Laura Jurek.
Heurung took the lead back on a pair of successful free-throws more than a minute later. Then, with 6:42 to go in the third, Blascziek extended the lead to four points on a three-point jumper.
Lexi Allen answered with a three of her own, and the Bruins trailed by one point with 5:50 to go in the third. Martinez gave Bellevue the lead back with a layup with 5:14 to go in the third quarter, but Heurung answered nearly 30 seconds later, with a three-point jumper, and Mayville State led by two points.
The two teams went back-and-forth, before Bellevue opened up a six point lead with 2:15 to go in the quarter, eventually growing to an 11-point lead, before Claire Blascziek's layup with five seconds left closed the gap to nine points heading into the final quarter.
Zrust made it a seven-point ballgame as she drained a layup with 9:22 to go. Bunting cut the lead to five nearly three minutes later, and Zrust again scored, making it 67-64 with 6:06 to go.
Bellevue increased the lead on another Hill three-pointer with 5:18 to go, increasing the lead back to six. Hill made it back-to-back threes with 4:39 to go, extending the lead to nine points. That was just part of a 12-0 run that saw the Bruins pull ahead by 15 points.
The Comets rallied with an 8-0 run to bring the game to a seven-point lead with just a minute to go, but Hill was the difference, scoring six points in the final minute.
Four Comets were in double-figures Monday night—led by Heurung's 20 points. Hale added 15 points on six-of-seven from the free-throw line; Zrust finished with 14 points; and Blascziek had 13, including three three-pointers in the contest.
With the loss, the Comets drop to 10-3 in the North Star Athletic Association and 21-5 overall. They drop into a three-way tie atop the North Star Athletic Association, with Bellevue and Dakota State joining the Comets with a 10-3 record.
They will host the Presentation College Saints on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.
"We're excited to come home and have a chance to win a conference championship on our home floor," Hutter said.