DE PERE, Wis. - The Saint Mary's basketball team was unable to establish their offensive rhythm against Carthage in a 50-32 setback on day two of the St. Norbert College's Nicolet National Bank Tip-Off Tournament.

 

Bella Dugas and Elle Deardorff teamed up to give the Belles a 7-4 lead midway through the opening quarter against the Firebirds, and Maddie Rzepka kept Saint Mary's ahead at 9-6 with a good jump shot off of a pass from Dugas. Claire Bartz and Anne Goralczyk each tallied a bucket down the stretch as the Belles carried a 13-10 lead into the second quarter.

 

The two sides were scoreless through the opening 2:25 of the second period until Bella Dugas gave Saint Mary's their largest lead of the game at 15-10 with a good jumper. Carthage responded with a bucket on their next possession and converted back-to-back turnovers into points the other way to gain a 17-15 lead. Morgan Flynn drained a three-pointer as Saint Mary's took the lead right back for her first bucket in a Belles uniform. A three-pointer by the Firebirds a minute and a half later saw Carthage go up 20-18. Carthage added eight points over the final three minutes of the quarter, and Saint Mary's was unable to get a shot to fall as the Firebirds led 28-18 at the break.

 

The teams traded buckets to start the third quarter with Maddie Rzepka hitting a jump shot off of an offensive rebound by Bella Dugas. Carthage hit a pair of free throws early a short while later before a three-pointer gave the Firebirds a 35-20 advantage with 6:06 remaining in the stanza. Anne Goralczyk powered in a layup, and Rzepeka drained a three-pointer to keep Saint Mary's within striking distance at 37-25. Carthage, however, out-scored the Belles 7-1 over the final four-plus minutes of the quarter to lead 44-26 going into the final ten minutes of play.

 

Despite limiting Carthage to 2-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, the Belles were unable to chip away at the deficit. Nikki Murphy sunk a three-pointer before Bella Dugas converted both ends of a trip to the free throw line, but the two sides combined to score four points over the final 6:45 of play in the 30-32 final despite several good looks and second-chance opportunities by the Belles.

 

Seven different players scored for Saint Mary's in the contest, led by nine points by Bella Dugas and seven points by Maddie Rzepka. The pair each recorded four rebounds, and Dugas tallied two assists while Rzepka came away with two steals. Mary Kate Gareau had a team-best five rebounds and added two assists. Anne Goralczyk posted four points, and Elle Deardorff, Nikki Murphy, Morgan Flynn, and Claire Bartz each chipped in three points. Murphy added four rebounds and two assists.

 

The Belles (0-3) continue a five-game stretch of away contests to open the season as Saint Mary's travels to Elmhurst for a 7:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. CST game on Wednesday, November 17.