With two consecutive wins against Northwest University and The Evergreen State College, Bushnell University (2-4) tried to continue that streak against 15th-ranked Lewis-Clark State (4-2).
Lewis-Clark led with an aggressive 10-0 start to the game, highlighted by a 2-point jumper by Sitara Byrd.
Bushnell got off to a slow start with six turnovers, only making 14 percent of its shots.
The Warriors continued their aggression against the Beacons with the first quarter ending in 14-5 in Lewis-Clark’s favor.
At the start of the second quarter, Lewis-Clark continued its attack while Bushnell became more aggressive and was able to slow down the Warriors’ offense from continuously making shots.
With five minutes left in the half, Bushnell began to pick up the pace, scoring five points consecutively and increasing its shooting to 38 percent with only three turnovers.
Bushnell’s lead scorer with an average of 18.4 points per game, Ayden Krupke, scored a 3-pointer at the buzzer, causing the final score of the first half to be 32-18 with Lewis-Clark still leading.
At the start of the second half, Lewis-Clark set the pace once again with Darian Herring making a layup.
On average, the Beacons are better during the second half, which is exactly what they did this game, slowing down the Warriors to regain possession of the game.
“At halftime, we talked about settling down,” assistant coach Ray Ricks said. “It wasn’t specifically about what we were running and more about a mindset and being in control and taking our time.”
By the fourth quarter, both Bushnell and Lewis-Clark had substituted their entire bench, with the latter attempting to keep its defense aggressive against a combative offense.
Even with a strong second half, Bushnell lost its win streak with a final score of 59-43.
Ayden Krupke struggled shooting on Friday, only scoring 12 points for her team—below her season average.
Meanwhile, Maddie Gerhart and Rose Gwillim both scored above average, with Gerhart totaling 11 points and Gwillim nine.
The Beacons have their next game tomorrow at 6 p.m. against Walla Walla University, taking their home court at the Morse Center.