Leavenworth, Kan.— The first round of the KCAC Women's Basketball Tournament lived up to the excitement in Ryan Sports Center as a dominant third quarter and key perimeter shooting surged the No. 4 seeded Spires to a 73-67 post-season victory over No. 5 Bethany College on Wednesday evening in Leavenworth.

Saint Mary set the tone early on its home floor, using an 8-0 run to close the first quarter and build a 15-8 lead. Bethany answered in the second quarter, outscoring the Spires 17-10 as Dewey and Unruh steadied the offense to erase the early deficit. Mary Olson and her squad wouldn't go away quietly before the break, with Olson adding 6 additional points in the second quarter alone with Tower and fellow senior Summer Wieneke each adding a bucket of their own, determined to keep their season rolling.

Out of halftime, the Spire offense found another gear, repeatedly getting to the line and converting in transition to continue their home court momentum. USM outscored the Swedes 28-17 in the third to break open a tie game at halftime, then answered a late Bethany rally to close out the win. The Spires led 53-42 after three quarters and pushed the margin to as many as 16 in the fourth before Bethany trimmed the deficit in the final minute behind late scoring from Percy and Davis.

Four Spires ended the night in double digit scoring with Addison Tower leading Saint Mary with 15 points, including a key 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining that made it 67-56 and effectively ended Bethany's hopes of a full comeback. Summer Wieneke added 13 points, hitting a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to give the Spires their first double-digit lead at 51-40. Keely Barnard registered 12 points and 3 assists in the first round. Saige Grampsas notched 10 points, 6 rebounds, and a steal, with KCAC Freshman of the Year Abby Wendt adding 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Mary Olson and Quinn Carpenter would add 8 and 4 points respectively with Olson grabbing 8 board to go along with it. USM finished 24-of-57 from the field (42.1 percent) and knocked down 19 free throws, going 76% at the line.

Bethany relied on a trio of double-figure scorers to stay close. Rignell and Dewey each scored 14 points, with Dewey's layup in the final seconds of the second quarter pulling the Swedes even at 25-25 at the break. Unruh added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while playing 37 minutes, helping Bethany shoot 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the floor with five made 3-pointers and 12 free throws.

Defensively, the Spires matched Bethany with 10 turnovers forced and held the Swedes to 9 offensive rebounds, limiting second-chance damage despite a slight 34-32 rebounding edge for the Swedes. Both teams tallied three blocks, but the Spires grit and ability to string together stops during the decisive third-quarter surge and protect its lead in the closing minutes proved to be the difference.

With the win, the Spires now advance to the KCAC Conference Tournament Semifinals in Springfield, Missouri at the home of the No. 1 seeded Evangel University Valor this Saturday, February 28^th with tip-off slated for 2:00 p.m. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow (February 26^th) and all tickets must be pre-purchased online.