BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Saint Mary's basketball team was unable to find an offensive rhythm in a 56-26 setback against Ohio Northern on day one of the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
Morgan Flynn opened the scoring on the day with a three-pointer from the left side of the floor, and
Maddie Rzepka powered her way to a pull up jumper in the lane to put the Belles ahead 5-1 just over two minutes into the contest. The Polar Bears, however, countered with a 21-2 run over the remainder of the opening stanza to take a commanding 22-7 lead through ten minutes of play.
Devan Buda fought through the lane to a driving layup midway through the second period, and Buda added a free throw a minute and a half later to make it a 24-10 score. Saint Mary's, however, could not catch any fortunate bounces off the rim as Ohio Northern carried a 32-10 lead into the halftime break.
Buda and
Mary Kate Gareau found success at the charity stripe for the Belles in the third period, and
Lauren Gumma connected on a jump shot late in the quarter as Saint Mary's continued to fight while making it a 39-22 game heading into the final stanza.
Nyah Porter dialed in a long-range two-pointer from the right corner of the court to push the score to 43-24.
Jasmyne Townsend later connected on both ends of a trip to the free throw line, but the deficit was too great in favor of the Polar Bears as Ohio Northern took the 56-26 decision.
Saint Mary's limited Ohio Northern to a season-low matching 33.8 percent shooting effort from the floor (22-of-65), but the Belles were unable to capitalize as they posted an 8-of-48 (16.7 percent) shooting showing in the contest.
The Belles (2-10) wrap up the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament against host Bluffton on Thursday evening at 5:00 p.m.
