The Pioneers trailed by as much as 22 points in the first half on Thursday, but a huge second half propelled MNU to a 72-66 victory at Benedictine. After the Pioneers jumped out to quick 5-0 lead, Benedictine took control of the game. The next 15 minutes saw the Ravens go on a 36-9 run to take a 22 point lead. Benedictine shot over 70% during that stretch, while the Pioneers shot under 20%.
"Nothing was falling for us," said Coach Olin. "We were getting decent looks but just couldn't get anything to drop through. Meanwhile they were hitting everything."
It took an 11-4 Pioneer run to close the half just to cut the deficit to 15. MNU continued that run in the second half, outscoring the Ravens 20-6 in 10 minutes to get within 1. Benedictine answered and built the lead back to 7 points with 9 minutes remaining, and that's when HAAC Player of the Year
Bethany Rexroth took over the game. During a 14-6 run, Rexroth put in 8 points as MNU finally came all the way back and took the lead. In the final 3 minutes,
Kristin Malone scored 7 points (5-6 from the free throw line) to ice the game, and MNU advanced to the next round.
"It was a tale of two halves," said Olin. "It seemed like neither team could score on that end of the gym. I'm proud that the girls hung in there and didn't get frustrated. It would've been easy to throw in the towel when we were down 20 points on the road. It says a lot about the character of this team."
Rexroth led all scorers with 25 points. She also pulled in 6 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.
Hadleigh Meek had 13 points.
Kristin Malone had 10 points.
Heather Cunard had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. And
Beth Keeley had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Pioneers will play at Evangel at 7:00 on Saturday.
