HOLLAND, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team saw their season come to close on Wednesday evening in a 90-41 loss against No. 3 ranked Hope in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinal round.
The host Flying Dutch scored on their first three possessions for a 7-0 lead early in the game. Both sides then settled into the flow of the game, and the Belles were right in the mix after a
Maddie Rzepka layup made it 7-2. Rzepka struck again on the next Saint Mary's possession to edge the Belles within three points at 7-4 three minutes into the game. A Hope three-pointer was countered by an
Elle Deardorff layup to push the score to 10-6 with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter. The Flying Dutch responded with a 6-0 run to push their lead to 12 with under four minutes on the clock.
Nikki Murphy used an extended offensive possession for the Belles to drain a three-pointer a minute later, and
Claire Bartz hit a layup after a Murphy steal to cut the deficit to seven points with 2:06 remaining. The Flying Dutch put the next six points on the scoreboard to re-establish a double-digit lead. Rzepka broke up the scoring run with a jumper outside the lane, but Hope posted a bucket of their own on the next possession as the Flying Dutch took a 26-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Hope opened the second quarter with a 12-0 run to establish a 38-13 advantage as the Belles were unable to get a shot to drop early in the period.
Elle Deardorff broke through into the scoring column for Saint Mary's midway through the period.
Caitlin Bonnesen added a free throw, and
Bella Dugas hit a three-pointer over the next two minutes of action. Jasmyne Townsend converted a pair of free throws before connecting on a jump shot to make it a 47-23 game with under two minutes to play before halftime. Hope again hit a shot in the final minute of the period to take a 49-23 lead into the locker room.
The sides traded buckets over the first three minutes of the third quarter with
Maddie Rzepka adding to her point total. Hope used another run to distance themselves from Saint Mary's as the Flying Dutch built a 66-25 lead late in the period.
Bella Dugas hit a layup to break up the scoring spurt, but back-to-back buckets by Hope gave the home side a 70-27 advantage going into the final stanza.
Julia Schutz got into the scoring column while
Nikki Murphy hit another three-pointer for the Belles. Townsend, Deardorff, Bonnesen,
Lauren Gumma, and
Mary Kate Gareau each added points in the final quarter as Saint Mary's nearly matched Hope in a 20-14 scoring output in the fourth quarter.
Both teams were efficient at the free throw line as the Belles were 10-of-13 from the charity stripe while Hope made 11-of-12 attempts. The Flying Dutch had a narrow 15-10 advantage in offensive rebounds as Hope out-scored Saint Mary's 12-5 in second-chance points.
The Belles end the season 6-20 overall.
