MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Benedictine University women's basketball team logged an 83-60 win at Alverno, securing the 500th victory in program history and the 50th under fourth year head coach Kristen Gillespie.

Benedictine trailed only once in the contest, at 8-6 with 16:02 left in the first half. The Eagles responded with a run of 18-2 to seize control. DeKayla Crayton opened the stretch with a layup, tying the game. A basket from Briana Hamilton made the score 24-10 with 9:11 to play in the first. Benedictine continued to pull away, shooting 54.3 percent in the opening half and holding a 47-20 lead at the break. The lead would reach 30 in the second half at 78-48 on a layup from Alena Moro with 4:35 remaining.

Benedictine used 16 players in the game with four scoring in double figures. The bench netted 45 points. Meghan Novak led the way with 17 points in just 19 minutes of action. Novak also dished out three assists. The senior has scored more than 15 points in nine consecutive games. Hamilton and Crayton picked up 12 points each while Raven Willis notched a career best 11. The Eagles held a 44-34 edge on the glass. Nicole Botich paced Benedictine with eight boards. Venita Parsons was the lone individual to play more than 20 minutes, distributing five assists and scoring six points in 23 minutes of action. The 83 points marked a season high.

Women's basketball opened play at Benedictine in the 1975-76 season, finishing 9-5. The 2014-15 season marks the 40th of women's basketball. The Eagles own 21 winning seasons in program history.  Benedictine owns an all-time record of 500-426 with a 126-107 record since joining the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2006-07. The Eagles own a 97-65 mark in NACC action.

The program has seen seven players total over 1,000 career points, most recently Novak, who surpassed the mark in a home win over Aurora on January 20.The 2001-02 team became the first ever women's basketball team to reach the NCAA Division III Tournament while the 2006-07 squad produced the first ever 20-win season.

The victory also marked the 50th in the career of head coach Kristen Gillespie, who took over the reigns for the 2011-12 season. Benedictine has already secured a slot in the 2015 NACC Tournament and will have appeared in the conference tournament in every season under Gillespie. Novak became the first player to earn first team all-conference honors under Gillespie in 2014. Gillespie, the eighth coach in school history, currently ranks third in career victories.

Benedictine (14-7, 14-2), who pulled even with Wisconsin Lutheran at the top of the conference standings, plays again on Saturday afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. home contest against MSOE.