The Swedes came out hot, taking an early 35-9 lead, and never looked back. Up by 20 at halftime, Bethany only outscored Central Christian by five in the second half, but hung on for a 77-52 win.

Sophomore Rhys Pihl scored a game-high 27 points after dumping 19 points in the first eight minutes of the game. Senior Jade Pihl and freshman Emily Dwerlkotte both added 13 points, followed by junior Cathy Wade with nine. R. Pihl grabbed seven rebounds while J. Pihl and Wade each had five. J. Pihl and freshman Nicole Felker tallied four assists apiece on the night with Wade contributing three. R. Pihl, Dwerlkotte, and Felker each snuck four steals.

Still searching for their first KCAC win, the squad then traveled to Bethel College Thursday evening for a head-to-head match-up with the Threshers in week two of conference play.

Calling the contest with Bethel a physical game would be an understatement. In a match with 58 total free throws, Bethany jumped out to an early 16-7 lead, but found themselves down by eight at halftime after a 29-12 Bethel run. The Swedes opened with an 8-0 run in the second half before the Threshers charged back and took the lead by nine. Despite the Swedes tying the game at 51 with just over eight minutes remaining in the game, free throws and a layup gave Bethel another nine-point lead, and the Threshers went on to defeat the Swedes 71-60.

"Bethel was a real physical game," said head coach Jim Campion. "That's the type of team they are. We had a tough time to start the game, but adjusted and played well in the second half."

R. Pihl, who came into the game leading the conference in scoring and ranking sixth in the NAIA Division II at 21.7 points per game, led the Bethany offense with 28 points. Dwerlkotte added ten points as Wade tacked on nine and junior Claire Cole contributed seven. Wade snagged seven rebounds as J. Pihl totaled two assists on the night. Dwerlkotte headed the defense with three steals.

"We took the lead and did some good things," Campion said, "but missed opportunities to score several times and turned the ball over, and they outscored us down the stretch."

The Swedes ended the week by hosting the Bulldogs of McPherson College Saturday evening.

Bethany came out firing against the struggling Bulldogs of McPherson, and took an 11 point lead into the locker room at halftime. McPherson closed the gap and was down by only three with three minutes left in the game. However, Bethany proved clutch and prevailed, snagging a 77-65 win, their first in conference play thus far.

"It was a much better game overall ," said Campion. "We got to where we finished the game. We did a great job offensively and defensively."

Wade had a game-high 27 points, followed by J. Pihl with 21. R. Pihl tacked on 11 points on the evening. Wade grabbed six rebounds while R. Pihl had five and Cole and Felker each tallied four. Dwerlkotte totaled an impressive seven assists, and Cole and J. Pihl led the defense with two steals apiece.

"What I was real pleased about was when Mac made a run at us late in the game, we were able to finish," Campion said.

Bethany is 1-3 in the KCAC, good for eighth place, and 3-9 overall. The Swedes next compete in the Kansas Wesleyan University Classic. The squad faces Dana College on Friday, January 1 at 5 p.m. before rounding out the tournament with a battle against Midland Lutheran College Saturday, January 2 at 2 p.m.