MESA, Ariz. – A small halftime lead dwindled in the third quarter and the Bushnell women's basketball team eventually fell to MidAmerica Nazarene on Tuesday, 67-63. It was the second game for both teams in the Cactus Classic, hosted by the University of Providence.
 
Bushnell (6-6) went down by ten points early in the first quarter and found themselves trailing 24-15 early in the second. The Beacons, however, caught fire and closed the half on an 18-4 run to go into the locker room with a 33-28 advantage.
 
Bushnell claimed their biggest lead at 40-33, but the Pioneers slowly began to chip away. Taking the lead back early in the fourth, 53-51, MANU never trailed again.
 
Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "Tough game today but we battled and did so many good things. We played a tough MidAmerica team that is really starting to come together. We played better today than we did yesterday morning. Once we settled down, we found some things that worked and we executed them really well."
 
The Beacons finished the night shooting 41% from the field and were 7-for-19 from three-point range. A 50% night at the free-throw line proved to be difficult for Bushnell to overcome.
 
Aspen Slifka led the Beacons with a game-high 24 points, hitting 3-for-5 from three-point range. Morgan McKinney added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Bushnell outscored the Pioneers off the bench, 17-6, including eight points from Bella Pedrojetti and six from Libby Mathis.
 
"We had a group that got into some foul trouble in the first half," said Meadors, "and our bench was able to come in and do a great job of battling and extending the lead."
 
MidAmerica Nazarene (6-5) shot 46% and hit eight triples while forcing 14 Beacon turnovers. Trel'Shawn Smith led the team with 18 points, followed by Jordynn Gonzales with 15 and Makayla Gooch with 13. All three players had a pair of threes.  
 
In the pursuit of winning we are having some pitfalls and some learning and some growth. We have played plenty of quality opponents this season and we have had our opportunities. Right now it hurts because we realize that we were a couple of possessions away each time. But, the fight is there. The grit and tenacity I saw tonight is what it will take to win. I am hoping we can continue to build on that tomorrow and come out against another strong opponent."
 
Bushnell closes out the Cactus Classic on Wednesday, taking on No. 21 Montana-Western at 2:00 pm local time.