DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2025) - The Buena Vista women's basketball team overcame a nine-point halftime deficit with a big third quarter, and then took the lead for good over the final 3:30 of the game, en route to a thrilling 70-67 non-conference victory over Alma College (5-6) on Saturday evening.

Junior Mary Walker led the Beavers with 15 points while sophomores Tyme Boettcher and Bradi Krager added 12 and 11, respectively. Senior Danika Demers flirted with a triple-double, scoring 10 points, grabbing nine rebound and dishing out six assists. Boettcher and Demers each made a pair of three-point buckets as BVU was 5-of-23 from downtown overall.

Freshman Adeeya Yanga was held to six points but came up big on the defensive end with a team-leading 10 rebounds and one blocked shot. Demers chalked up a team-high three steals with Krager and Boettcher each adding two.

Both teams came out and shot a touch under 40 percent from the field in the first quarter with BVU taking a slim 18-16 lead to the second. Alma had their best quarter with eight field goals, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc while the Beavers went just 2-of-14 overall and trailed 37-29 at the break. The third quarter saw the Beavers outscore Alma 18-11 and fought back within 49-48  going to the fourth. The final period was back-and-forth like much of the game. 

A three-point make from Demers gave BVU its first lead of the half at 55-54 with six minutes to play. The lead switched hands four more times over the next three minutes before a bucket from Walker gave the Beavers the lead for good with 3:27 remaining. Krager followed with a layup before Walker connected for another basket to extend the margin to five with just over a minute to go. Alma didn't go away, and after making all three free-throws following a foul on a three-point attempt, pulled to within 67-65 with 25 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, the Beavers got a pair of free-throws from freshman Adriana Howard and then forced a turnover which led to a made free-throw from Walker that made it a five-point game with seven seconds to go. Alma got a tip-in at the buzzer for the final score.

Buena Vista finished the game shooting 36.5 percent from the floor, 21.7 percent from downtown and converted 19-of-25 free-throw attempts (76.0 percent).

Up next for the Beavers (5-6) is a match-up against the University of New England on Sunday, Dec. 21, to close out its holiday trip. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. (EST).