FAYETTE, Mo. - The Benedictine women's basketball team defeated Central Methodist, 76-67, in Heart of America Athletic Conference action on Saturday inside Puckett Field House. The Lady Ravens improve to 9-8, 4-2 in the HAAC, while the Lady Eagles fall to 7-10, 4-3 in league play.

A Raylyn Nuss three-pointer gave Central Methodist its first lead of the game, 5-4, at the 16:16 mark of the first half.

WIth the score tied at seven, Benedictine went on a 12-2 run over the next six minutes. A Rosie Youngstrom steal and fastbreak layup gave the Lady Ravens a 19-9 advantage with 10:01 on the clock.

The Lady Eagles answered with a 13-5 spurt in a span of 7:09. Audrey Patton brought the deficit to two points, 24-22, with 2:52 left in the first half, but the visitors took a 33-25 lead into halftime.

Benedictine's Kelsey Wolfe had 10 points after the first 20 minutes of play to lead all scorers. Brittney Lloyd had eight at intermission to pace the Lady Eagles.

Benedictine�started the second half strong and�opened up a 20-point advantage four minutes into period before Central Methodist rallied. Four straight points by Nakia Robinson, including an eight-foot jumper, steal and running layup in the paint cut deficit to 47-33 with 14:41 left in the game..

Another Robinson running layup resulted in an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 63-53 in favor of the Lady Ravens with 7:15 remaining in the game. Sammie Gathercole drained a three from the corner to cut the deficit to eight points, 68-60.� A Karli Abbey offensive rebound and putback on the next trip down the court cut the Benedictine lead to six points.

After Robinson converted the second of two free throws, an Abbey steal off the inbounds attempt and layup cut deficit to 70-67 with 1:25 left in game. However, the Lady Eagles would get no closer, as Benedictine converted free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Wolfe finished with a game-high 19 points. Liz Stinson (17), Youngstrom (14) and Erin Murphy (10) all scored in double figures.

Robinson tallied a team-high 14 points. Lloyd added 12. Abbey recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Gathercole had nine points.

Benedictine hit 22-of-50 (44%) from the floor. Central Methodist was 20-of-59 (33.9%) from the field. The Lady Eagles outrebounded the Lady Ravens, 43-33, including an 18-9 mark on the offensive glass.

Central Methodist will travel to Culver-Stockton on Thursday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT.