OLIVET, Mich. - Powered by a strong second quarter and point contribution from ten different players, the Saint Mary's basketball team prevailed over Olivet in a 74-62 conference final on Wednesday evening in the team's first game of the 2022 calendar year.
The Comets got on the scoreboard first before
Anne Goralczyk hit a jump shot on the next Saint Mary's possession. Olivet took a 5-2 lead a short while later, but
Bella Dugas used a put-back bucket and layup plus the and-one to put Saint Mary's ahead 7-5.
Mary Kate Gareau added an offensive rebound and put-back effort of her own to extend the Saint Mary's advantage to 9-5 midway through the quarter. The Belles then turned defense to offense after a
Christina Shadid blocked shot yielded a triple by the junior guard from the left corner at the other end to make it 12-5. The Comets got a pair back with two free throws, but
Claire Bartz quickly regained the momentum for the Belles with a three-pointer of her own for a 15-7 lead. Olivet closed the gap with three consecutive buckets as the Belles called a timeout leading 15-13 with 2:52 remaining in the opening quarter.
Lauren Gumma hit a runner in the paint after the timeout, but the Comets countered with a three-pointer to pull within a point at 17-16. Olivet knotted the score at 17-17 with a free throw before
Bella Dugas continued her offensive tear in the opening period with a power layup. The host Comets scored on their next possession, and the game moved to the second quarter tied at 19-19.
Anne Goralczyk opened the scoring in the second quarter to regain the lead for the Belles. The Comets, however, countered with a three-pointer for a 22-21 lead. Goralczyk answered with her second good bucket in as many attempts, and
Jasmyne Townsend buried a three-pointer on a second-chance opportunity for a 26-22 advantage.
Devan Buda sunk a mid-range jumper, but the Comets came back with consecutive baskets to cut the lead to two points at 28-26.
Claire Bartz hit her second three-pointer of the game to ensure the Belles maintained the lead, and a turnover by the Comets yielded a pair of good free throws by Bartz as the Belles pushed their lead to 33-26. After the teams traded buckets, both sides hit a scoreless drought for the next two minutes until Olivet cut the Saint Mary's lead to four points at 35-31 with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Caitlin Bonnesen connected on both ends of a trip to the charity stripe for a 37-31 lead for the Belles, and
Alexandria Swift got on the scoresheet with a three-pointer of her own in the closing seconds of the quarter to give Saint Mary's a 40-31 lead going into the halftime break as the Belles out-scored the Comets 21-12 in the quarter.
Devan Buda started the offense for the Belles in the third period with a three-pointer, and back-to-back buckets by Goralczyk and Townsend saw Saint Mary's push the lead to 47-33 just two-and-a-half minutes into the quarter. Olivet scored on their next possession, but both teams again hit a streak where shots would not fall as the score remained locked at 47-35.
Mary Kate Gareau got the Belles back on the scoreboard with a jumper. The Comets cut into the Saint Mary's lead with five consecutive points to push the score to 49-40 with just over two minutes remaining on the clock.
Devan Buda had the answer for the Belles at the other end with a layup, and
Lauren Gumma buried a three-pointer on the next Saint Mary's possession for a 54-40 lead. Olivet got a bucket back on their next opportunity before
Christina Shadid connected on a free throw late in the quarter to give the Belles a 55-42 edge heading into the final period.
Jasmyne Townsend,
Anne Goralczyk, and
Devan Buda all scored early in the final quarter to give the Belles a 61-45 lead. Shadid dialed in another triple, and Goralczyk capped off a strong scoring night with a layup midway through the quarter for a 68-51 advantage. The Comets scored seven consecutive points over the next two minutes of play before
Claire Bartz ended the scoring run with a good jumper. Olivet made another push to edge within eight points with two minutes remaining, but Buda closed out the game with a pair of free throws and a layup on her way to a career-high scoring night in the 74-62 win.
Saint Mary's pulled down a season-high 53 rebounds on the night while Olivet corralled just 38. That led to a strong scoring advantage in second-chance points against the Comets as Saint Mary's held a 17-2 edge over Olivet in the category.
Saint Mary's (3-11, 2-3 MIAA) has a short turnaround as they travel to Kalamazoo on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. conference tilt against the Hornets.
