Saint Mary women's basketball traveled to North Newton, KS on Saturday to take on Bethel. The Spires came away with a tough 70-69 loss. Saint Mary was attempting to win their third straight conference contest. They now have a conference record of 3-7 and an overall record of 4-13. After going 1-1 on the week, the Spires sit in eighth place of the KCAC standings.

Saint Mary played from behind in the first half. Bethel would jump out to a 13-4 lead by the 15:00 mark of the first half. The Spires would erase the deficit and hold a three point lead with 8:43 left in the half before Bethel closed out the half on an 18-8 run and take a seven point lead into halftime.

In the second half, Bethel would push their lead out to 14 points, but the Spires would come roaring back. Saint Mary would have the game tied at 53 with 9:07 left to play. With 31 seconds left and the Spires trailing by two points, Imani Dixon nailed a three point shot to give Saint Mary a one point lead. Bethel would miss a shot with two seconds left in the game, but a Saint Mary foul would send Bethel to the free throw line where they hit both shots and take the victory 70-69.

Kelsey Switzer put up 21 points for the Spires in the loss. It is her seventh consective game scoring in double digits. Dixon finished the game with 20 points and eight rebounds, finishing just short of a double-double. Mariah Marusak had a season high seven assists.

The next game for the Spires will be on Wednesday in Salina, KS against Kansas Wesleyan at 6pm. In the first meeting this season with Kansas Wesleyan, the Spires fell 85-67 at home.