NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team lost its UMAC opener 73-71 in overtime to Bethany Lutheran on Saturday.

The Knights took control of the game in the first half, holding the Vikings to 26.7 percent shooting through two quarters on the way to a 26-25 halftime lead.

The Vikings started the second half strong, however, building a lead as big as seven in the third quarter and putting MLC on the defensive.

The  Knights rallied, however, and took a two-point lead on a Faith Otte jumper with 56 seconds to play, but the Vikings forced overtime thanks to an Anna Balcom jumper with 22 seconds to play.

In overtime, BLC raced to a six-point lead to open the extra period. The Knights cut the deficit to one at 70-69 with 51 seconds remaining, but were unable to come all the way back before the final buzzer expired.

The game was a battle of attrition in many ways, with the two teams combining to commit 63 fouls. At one point in the fourth quarter, all ten players on the court had four personal fouls. The Vikings took advantage of the fouls, finishing 31-43 from the charity stripe compared to 20-33 for MLC.

Jade St. Germaine had a career day for MLC, setting new career highs with 26 points and 20 rebounds for her first game with at least 20 of each. Mariah Schoof added 11 points and two blocks, while Grace Schultz finished with ten points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

MLC fell to 0-5 on the season and 0-1 in UMAC play with the loss. BLC improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in UMAC play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Monday, December 5, when they travel to Augsburg for a game scheduled to start at 7:45 p.m.