NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior Sophia Kormann scored a career-high 18 points for the St. Olaf College women's basketball team in a 77-48 loss to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent Bethel University on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

Kormann surpassed her previous career high of 16 points set last month to account for over one-third of the scoring for St. Olaf (6-5, 0-4 MIAC), which was playing its second home game in four days. Bethel (8-3, 4-0 MIAC) stayed unbeaten in conference play after having four double-figure scorers and shooting 57.4 percent (27-for-47) from the field as a team.

Kormann was 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-12 from the free-throw line for the Oles, who got 10 points off the bench from senior Ziling Zhen. Coming off a game-winning steal and layup in the final seconds three days prior, Zhen was 2-for-5 from behind the arc on her way to a season-high 10 points.

Emily Erickson led Bethel and matched Kormann for game-high honors with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and went 5-for-6 at the charity stripe. Elly Schmitz, Anna Garfield, and Colette Duininck all joined Erickson in double figures, as the Royals' starting five combined for 60 of the team's 77 points.

Bethel held St. Olaf to one field goal in the opening quarter to take a 17-6 lead after 10 minutes. Zhen hit both of her three-pointers on the afternoon in the second quarter, but the Oles trailed 33-20 at the half after Erickson scored 13 of her 18 points in the first 20 minutes.

After shooting under 30.0 percent in the first half, St. Olaf hit 48.0 percent (12-for-25) of its shots in the second half but could not get any closer than nine early in the third quarter. Kormann had 10 of her 18 points in the second half for the Oles.

St. Olaf will make the trip up to Duluth to face the College of St. Scholastica on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.