NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Belles basketball team outscored visiting Adrian 33-12 in the third quarter and carried that momentum to an 88-70 conference victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
Elle Deardorff opened the game with a good three-pointer, and
Julia Schutz added a layup for a 5-3 lead early. The Belles hit a tough scoring stretch, however, as the Bulldogs used a 14-3 run to take a 17-8 lead with two minutes remaining in the opening period.
Nicole Connolly made it a seven-point game with a jumper, and
Lauren Gumma connected on a three-pointer late in the quarter to put the Belles within six at 19-13 through the first ten minutes of play.
Christina Shadid and
Maddie Rzepka put the Belles on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, and a
Julia Schutz three-pointer started an 8-0 spurt for Saint Mary's.
Elle Deardorff and
Nicole Connolly put Saint Mary's ahead 25-23, and a
Mary Kate Gareau jumper in the paint made it 27-24 in favor of the home side. Adrian countered with a scoring spurt of their own to gain a 36-31 lead. Deardorff dialed one in from long distance, and Connolly hit a baseline jumper just before the halftime buzzer as the Belles kept close at 40-36 midway through the contest.
The momentum shifted in a big way early in the third quarter as Saint Mary's hit 5-of-5 three-point attempts to begin the second half of action.
Elle Deardorff made back-to-back triples,
Julia Schutz added back-to-back threes of her own, and Deardorff capped off the hot start with another three to put the Belles ahead 51-45 just 2:34 into the quarter. Back-to-back mid-range shots a short while later made it 58-47.
Christina Shadid found the bottom of the net with a good three-pointer of her own, and
Lauren Gumma sunk a pair of free throws for a 15-point lead at 66-51, and
Maddie Rzepka ensured a 17-point lead going into to the final quarter with a layup and two late free throws for a 69-52 lead. Saint Mary's hit 64.3 percent (9-of-14) of their shots from the floor and 6-of-7 three-pointers (85.7 percent) in the third period for a 33-12 scoring advantage. Adrian, meanwhile, was 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from the floor as the Bulldogs were unable to hit a three-pointer in the quarter.
Saint Mary's kept finding offensive success in the fourth period as the Belles opened the final stanza with an 8-2 scoring spurt to extend the lead to 77-54 just three minutes into the quarter. The Bulldogs edged within 17 points on four occasions, but the Belles had a response each time to keep a comeback attempt at bay in an 88-70 final.
Saint Mary's hit a season-high 11 three-pointers and were 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) from behind the arc while Adrian was 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from three-point range in the game. The Belles hit 19-of-25 free throws to the Bulldogs' 7-of-18 and had a 43-38 advantage in rebounds.
The Belles (4-4, 1-1 MIAA) have a break from conference play as they travel to neighboring Holy Cross College for a 6:00 p.m. contest on Tuesday, December 6.
