MANKATO, Minn. - Coe College held off a late run by Bethany Lutheran Thursday night, as Coe won its second-straight game with an 80-67 victory over the Vikings. Coe was held without a field goal in the final 5:59.
Both teams came out firing from downtown, as they combined for five 3-pointers in the first 5:50 of the game. Coe held an 18-15 lead when senior Caitlin Kray (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) hit a jumper with 12:15 to play in the first half, sparking a 13-5 Kohawk run in the next 3:28. Bethany Lutheran's Kasslin Swenson scored on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 4:32 to play in the half, cutting Coe's lead to 35-29. The Kohawks took over after that, as they went on a 10-0 run, including eight points in the paint, to take a 45-29 lead with 1:00 to play in the half. Coe gave up a layup to Jade Pelzl with :44 to play before Pelzl hit a shot at the buzzer, cutting Coe's lead to 45-33 at the break.
The Vikings trimmed the lead to 55-43 with 14:15 to play, but Coe answered with an 8-1 run in the next 1:59, extending the lead to 63-44. A layup by sophomore Megan Hayes (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) gave Coe a 17 point lead with 7:33 to play. The Vikings then went on a 13-6 run in the next 6:47, cutting the lead to 10 with :33 to play. Senior Kelsey Jipp(Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) and junior Lindsey Buckles (Davenport, Iowa/West) both hit free throws in the final minute to seal the victory for Coe.
Senior Kayla Waskow (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) and Hayes led Coe with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting each. Waskow, Coe's all-time leader in field goals, connected on her 500th basket for her career. Junior Mackenzie Reed (Iowa City, Iowa/West) added 11 points, while sophomore Lindsey Jipp (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) and Buckles had eight points apiece.
Hayes led the Kohawks with nine rebounds, while Waskow and Kray had six and five respectively. K. Jipp, Buckles and junior Hannah Breitbach (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) had four assists apiece, ting a career-high for Buckles. L. Jipp and Waskow added three assists apiece. Buckles also tied a career-high with four steals, while Hayes had two and blocked three shots. Pelzl led the Vikings with a game-high 21 points, while Shelby Wiederhoeft had a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Kohawks shot 59.3 percent for the game, including 64.5 percent in the opening half. Overall, it was the fourth highest single-game field goal percentage in school history.
Coe returns to action on Dec. 15, as they host Carleton at 4 p.m. A link for live video and live stats can be found at CoeAthletics.com.