The No. 25 Benedictine women’s basketball team overcame a three-point halftime deficit on Saturday afternoon to win their 10th game of the Heart of America Athletic Conference season as they earned a 69-63 win over Avila University.

Benedictine (17-6, 10-1 Heart) connected on 41.1 percent from the floor in the second half to outscore Avila (8-10, 3-8 Heart) 35-36.

The Ravens led by as much as nine points midway through the first half before the Eagles went on a 11-2 run to pull even at 24 points with just under six minutes left in the half.

The lead changed hands four times in the final four minutes of the half before Avila pulled ahead to take a 37-34 lead into halftime.

In the second half neither team was able to pull away.

Benedictine led by as much as seven points while Avila was able to lead by as much as six points.

After the seventh tie of the game at 56 points, Kristen Murphy connected on a field goal in the paint from Kaitlyn Mercer to give Benedictine a 58-57 lead.

The Ravens led the rest of the game as Mercer scored four of her eight points down the stretch to help keep Benedictine in front.

Jackie Ziesel led the Ravens with 14 points while Murphy finished with 13 points off the bench as Benedictine finished with a 32-8 advantage in bench scoring.

Benedictine converted 80 percent from the charity stripe, which included a 9 of 11 effort in the second half.

The Ravens are off Thursday before hitting the road for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday in Fayette, Mo., against Central Methodist University.

— BC Sports Information —