NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team extended its winning streak to four games with a 79-67 non-conference victory over Bethany Lutheran College on Tuesday evening at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (5-1) had four scorers in double figures and held off a comeback from Bethany Lutheran (1-5), which cut a 16-point third-quarter deficit to one early in the fourth. The victory saw the Oles surpass last season's win total through just six games and stretched the team's best start to a season since 2015-16 to 5-1.

Sophomore Chloee Smith registered her second double-double in a row with a game-high 23 points and a season-high 11 rebounds while shooting 10-for-13 from the field. Senior Paige Yagodinski, who was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week earlier in the day, shot 7-for-14 on her way to 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one blocked shot. Yagodinski has scored at least 17 points in each of St. Olaf's last four games.

Sophomore Joy Brandenstein was in double figures for the fourth time in six games with 15 points and did most of her damage at the free-throw line, where she was 9-for-10 on the night. Senior Sophia Kormann neared a double-double with 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the Oles, who shot 47.5 percent (28-for-59) from the field in the victory.

St. Olaf made its first five shots – all in the paint and four by Smith – over the first 3:05 to get out to a 10-6 lead early on. Bethany Lutheran used a 7-0 run to take a 15-12 advantage in the final four minutes of the quarter and led 21-17 after one thanks to 13 bench points in the quarter.

The Oles opened up a 38-30 halftime lead after outscoring the Vikings by a 21-9 margin in the second quarter, led by nine points from Yagodinski. St. Olaf put together a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead early in the quarter and stretched its lead to as many as 10 with a 9-2 spurt later on. Smith and Yagodinski combined for 23 of the Oles' 38 first-half points.

Led by a 10-point quarter from Gianna Klarenbeek, Bethany Lutheran cut its deficit to 55-52 after three behind a 22-point third quarter that saw the Vikings shoot 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the field. Smith scored seven points in the first two minutes of the quarter to push St. Olaf's lead to 47-31 – its largest of the night – with 8:12 to go, but the visitors outscored the Oles 21-8 over the remainder of the quarter to make it a one-possession game.

A three-pointer by Kaylee Hunter 2:30 into the final quarter brought Bethany Lutheran within a point at 58-57, but St. Olaf scored the next seven points to bump its lead back to eight with 5:13 to play. Sophomore Kyla Elsbury, who scored seven points in 10 minutes off the bench, capped the run with a three-point play, but the Vikings got right back within three with a quick 5-0 run. St. Olaf got its lead back to seven with buckets by Kormann and Smith and saw out the victory thanks to Brandenstein going 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.

The Oles will play their final three games of 2024 on the road, starting with their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener at the College of Saint Benedict at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4.