Second Quarter Scoring Woes Set Belles Back Against Pioneers

 

DE PERE, Wis. - The Saint Mary's basketball team had a strong second half, but the Belles were on the short end of an 86-57 final against Carroll University at St. Norbert College's Nicolet National Bank Tip-Off Tournament on Friday.

 

Claire Bartz tallied her first points with the Belles with the first bucket of the game, and Bella Dugas drained back-to-back three-pointers for Saint Mary's as the Belles stuck close to Carroll midway through the opening quarter with the Pioneers clinging onto a 9-8 lead. Carroll capitalized on turnovers and found their way to the free throw line frequently in the first period as an 11-1 run put the Pioneers ahead 21-9. Maddie Rzepka converted both ends of a trip to the charity stripe to make it a 21-11 game, and Elle Deardorff and Rzepka each added a bucket late in the quarter to give the Belles some momentum heading into the break with Carroll leading 27-15.

 

Both sides hit a three-minute scoreless drought early in the second quarter, but it would be the Pioneers who would find a pair of buckets to extend their advantage. Anne Goralczyk hit a jump shot to make it 37-17. Christina Shadid added a pair of free throws and a mid-range jump shot three-plus minutes later. The Pioneers, however, closed out the final minute of the period with five points to take a 51-21 lead into the half. Carroll posted their best shooting effort of the game in the second quarter after going 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) from the floor while the Belles were limited to their lowest single-quarter shooting percentage of the contest in the period (16.7 percent; 2-of-12).

 

Goralczyk opened the third quarter with an offensive rebound and put-back jumper, and Maddie Rzepka added a pair of free throws as the Belles put four points on the board in the opening minute. Mary Kate Gareau got in on the scoring with a good jumper of her own for her first points in a Belles uniform, and Goralczyk and Rzepka chipped in another bucket each as Saint Mary's found the bottom of the net at a much better clip in the period. Nikki Murphy, Christina Shadid, and Bella Dugas added to the scoring column for Saint Mary's as the Belles spread the scoring chances.

 

Elle Deardorff stretched the Pioneers' defense in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and converted the layup-and-one opportunity. Midway through the period, Nyah Porter tallied her first collegiate bucket on a layup and finished the three-point play with the free throw. Alexandria Swift hit a layup for her first bucket for the Belles, and Saint Mary's out-scored Carroll 21-16 over the final quarter. The Pioneers, however, took the contest by the 86-57 final margin.

 

Saint Mary's held a 14-12 edge in second-chance points in the game, but Carroll capitalized on turnovers in a big way by out-scoring the Belles 29-10 off of added opportunities.

 

Ten different players scored at least two points for Saint Mary's. Bella Dugas led the Belles with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the fourth of her career. Elle Deardorff added nine points, and Maddie Rzepka, Anne Goralczyk, and Christina Shadid each chipped in eight points. Rzepka had a game-high four assists, and Goralczyk pulled down five rebounds. Mary Kate Gareau added five rebounds of her own.