(RV) Women's Basketball opens road swing with 14-point win over Graceland

LAMONI, Iowa – Benedictine Women's Basketball used a balanced attack on Wednesday night to earn a regular-season sweep over Graceland University.

The Ravens held a 44-28 lead at the half and earned the sweep with a 72-58 win over the Yellowjackets as they opened up the first of three road games in conference play. 

Benedictine overcame an early deficit at the hands of the Graceland to push ahead by 8 points after the first quarter. Graceland led 5-0 early before Lauryn Dubbert and Kennedy Nicholson combined for three straight layups to erase the Ravens early deficit. The Ravens benefitted from 16 points in the paint to bounce back to take the lead after the first quarter. 

Nicholson hit 3 3-pointers in the second quarter to spark the Ravens offensively and allowed Benedictine to pull ahead by 16 at the halftime break. Benedictine limited Graceland to just one field goal over the final four minutes of the half to pull ahead at the break.

Graceland limited Benedictine to just 2 field goals in the third quarter, but the Ravens were able to maintain a double-digit advantage as they connected on a combination of 6 free throws by Josie Weishaar, Jennifer Jacobs, and Riley Bruggeman. Another Nicholson 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter pushed Benedictine's lead back to 13 points to match their lead after three quarters before Graceland shaved down that lead to single digits three times over the final 6 minutes of the game. Benedictine limited Graceland to just one free throw over the final 3 minutes of the game to earn the 14-point win.

Nicholson led the Ravens with 15 points and 3-pointers, pushing her past 200 for her career, while Weishaar finished with 12. Dubbert added 11 while Benedictine outscored Graceland 22-8 off the bench.

Benedictine remains on the road Saturday, traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to take on Mount Mercy University.

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