Morgan Muhlbauer scored 22 points, Jasmine Demers had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Claudia Larsen registered a triple-double, as the Buena Vista women's basketball team used a big fourth quarter to get past visiting Central College on Saturday afternoon, 91-76.
Central led 19-16 after the first quarter with the Beavers using a late second quarter spurt to grab a 37-35 halftime advantage. The Dutch went 11-of-17 from the field in the third quarter while BVU was 8-of-16, as the visting red and white led by five (63-58) heading to the final frame.
From there, it was all Beavers, as Muhlbauer had a three-point play coupled with a pair of three-point buckets while Demers squeezed in a pair of lay-ups to spark a key 11-0 run to start the frame. BVU went on to outscore the Dutch 33-13 over the final 10 minutes en route to its fourth straight victory.
Muhlbauer matched a career-high with five made three-point buckets in the contest (5-of-8) and finished 7-of-14 from the field overall. She just missed out on her second straight double-double by grabbing eight rebounds and also chipped in with five steals. Demers was 9-of-19 from the field and 2-of-3 at the free-throw line while Larsen was just 4-of-10 shooting. She did, however, record the first triple-double in the Iowa Conference this season with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Holly Schneider was the fourth starter again in double figures for the blue and gold, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists, as McKenna Whitehill just missed out on making it five starters in double figures as she scored nine points and dished out three assists.
After a slow start, BVU finished at 46 percent shooting from the field, including 9-of-25 from downtown. It took 25 more shots than the Dutch in the contest and outrebounded them 43-32. The Beavers only turned the ball over 10 times compared to 21 for Central, which dipped to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
Buena Vista has now won four straight games to improve its overall record to 8-5. The Beavers have also won three straight in league play and sit at 3-1.
BVU goes back on the road Wednesday night (Jan. 10) as it travels to the University of Dubuque for a 6:00 p.m. contest against the Spartans (3-10, 1-3 IIAC).