by OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to win its home opener Wednesday night. The Flames defeated Bellevue University 77-47 in the nonconference contest.
“Overall, I was happy,” CSM Coach Jesse Flanagan said. “We expect to score more, but I was happy with the balance tonight.”
Eleven different players scored for CSM, led by Pilar Aldrich (SR/Winnebago, Neb.) with 12.
Teammate Peyton Hagen (JR/Bellevue, Neb.) tossed in 11 points, Shelby Allberry(SR/North Platte, Neb.) scored 10 and both Ashley Nelson (SO/LaVista, Neb.) and Payton Everett (SR/Malcolm, Neb.) canned eight. Also for the Flames, Justice Ross(SR/Gretna, Neb.) had a team-high 10 rebounds and Hagen finished with seven assists.
“We struggled shooting the ball in the first half – especially from the 3-point line,” Flanagan said. “But our defense got us through. We held them to 20 percent shooting and only 17 points in the first half.
“We shot much better in the second half and shot better from 3-point range. We’re going to live and die by that 3-point line some times.”
Beth Walker led the Bruins with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the win,” Flanagan said. “These are the games when you kinda find out who you are as a team.”
The Flames (2-0 overall) return to the court Friday and Saturday at the Sterling College Warrior Classic. CSM plays Tabor College at 2 p.m. Friday and Sterling College at 5 p.m. Saturday.
