Mankato, MN - The MLC Knights came into Saturday's matchup against Bethany with some momentum, as they secured a home win (63-52) against Nebraska Wesleyan in their first game back from Winter break. Meanwhile, Bethany lost their previous game to Wartburg College 77-48 on December 30th. MLC put up another solid effort on Saturday, but were unable to fend off the relentless approach from Bethany, as the Vikings defeated them 82-60. 

    MLC got off to a rough shooting start, as Bethany played hard on that end of the court, making it difficult for the Knights to get high percentage shots. Bethany also wanted to get out and run off of every MLC missed shot and often beat the Knights down the open court. The Vikings played very opportunistic and had 15 points off turnovers in the first half. Bethany was aggressive near the basket, getting to the foul line. At the end of the first half, Bethany led MLC 41-20.

    The Knights came out of the second half with some more intensity and got a spark from Jordyn Heckendorf, who got consecutive steals near half court and then drove to the basket for easy lay-ups. However, the Vikings had a counter for every attempted MLC comeback and the closest MLC got to Bethany was within 15 points.
    The key towards Bethany's win over MLC was their ball movement and paint production, where they scored 44 of their 82 points at. Bethany had four players in double figures and their depth served as a key component in their success in today's contest.

    The Knights were led by Emma Nelson, who finished with 15 points and Grace Kieselhorst's 9 points and seven rebounds. The Vikings were led by Ashley Schindele who scored 21 points on 53 percent shooting from the floor.

    MLC (5-7, 0-3) will play Maranatha Baptist on Tuesday, January 10th.