DECORAH, Iowa (Jan. 4, 2025) - The Buena Vista University women's basketball team took the court for the first time in the new year on Saturday afternoon at Luther College, but the Beavers couldn't overcome 18 made three-point buckets by the Norse who rolled to a 99-63 American Rivers Conference victory.

Freshman Tyme Boettcher led BVU with 12 points with junior Madalyn Hilgendorf scoring 11. Hilgendorf made 3-for-4 from long range to lead the team which finished 7-of-27 for the game. Boettcher was 5-of-15 from the field and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc while also grabbing six rebounds. Junior Danika Demers and freshman Bradi Krager each turned in eight points with Krager snatching a team-leading seven boards. BVU shot 31.5 percent from the field and went 10-of-15 from the free-throw line.

Luther came out and made five treys in the opening quarter, while BVU went just 3-of-17 from the field overall, and the Norse built a 31-10 lead. The lead was pushed to 49-23 at the half and 75-43 at the start of the fourth. The Norse made 11 of their 18 treys in the second half, including six in the final quarter. They finished the game shooting 47.3 percent from the field and also converted 11-of-13 from the line. Defensively, Luther held a slight 50-42 advantage on the glass.

Five players scored in double figures for the Norse (10-3, 3-1 A-R-C) led by 17 from Lexi Thomas, who buried a game-high five three point shots (5-of-10).

Buena Vista dips to 5-7 overall (0-3 A-R-C) and travels to Loras College (3-5, 1-2 A-R-C) on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 5:30 p.m.