NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Leading by five at halftime, a 22-9 third-quarter by the Belles all but secured a home win for the Saint Mary's basketball team in a 68-49 final against Olivet on Wednesday evening.

 

The Belles took an 8-2 lead through the opening 2:41 of play. Maddie Rzepka opened the scoring, Christina Shadid drained a three-pointer, Bella Dugas scored a layup on the fastbreak, and Julia Schutz added a free throw as scoring diversity was key to the Saint Mary's success on the night. The Comets countered with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes of play for a 9-8 advantage. Both teams hit a bit of a scoreless stretch until Claire Bartz buried a three-pointer to regain the lead for the Belles. Bartz connected from long distance again a minute later for a 14-9 lead, and Nyah Porter and Jasmyne Townsend hit back-to-back buckets for an 18-12 advantage with just over a minute to go in the opening stanza. A late free throw by Olivet cut the Saint Mary's lead to five going into the second quarter.

 

Bella Dugas added another layup, and Maddie Rzepka got in on the three-point party with a triple to make it 23-15. The Comets continued to keep close with back-to-back baskets. Julia Schutz knocked down a three-pointer from the corner, but another set of consecutive buckets by the visitors shrunk the Belles' lead to three at 26-23 midway through the quarter. The two sides continued to trade points back-and-forth over the remaining four minutes of the second period. Elle Deardorff hit a second-chance jumper and added to the three-point total while Schutz added to her scoring total with a put-back bucket as the Belles carried a 33-28 lead into the halftime break.

 

A pair of Christina Shadid triples served as bookends to a pair of Schutz free throws, and the Belles opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run. Olivet cut the deficit to eight points with a three-pointer of their own midway through the period, but a Nyah Porter three-pointer right in front of the Saint Mary's bench gave all the energy back to the Belles. Deardorff dialed in another trey as Saint Mary's built a double-digit lead they did not relinquish over the remainder of the contest. The third quarter was capped off with a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Morgan Flynn from the left corner of the court, and the Belles carried a 55-37 lead into the final ten minutes of action. Saint Mary's hit 5-of-10 three-pointers in the third quarter alone en route to a 22-9 scoring spurt in the stanza.

 

The Comets' last push saw Olivet cut the deficit to 13 with 7:11 on the clock, but Christina Shadid shut the door on any comeback thoughts with her fourth triple of the game a minute later. Schutz and Rzepka each added to their point totals in the fourth quarter, and Caitlin Bonnesen got on the scoresheet with a pair of second-chance jumpers. Claire Bartz added a second-chance mid-range jump shot between the Bonnesen buckets, and the Belles claimed the 68-49 win on their home hardwood.

 

Saint Mary's used a season-high 12 three-pointers to out-score Olivet by 30 points from beyond the arc in the game. Moreover, the 12 made three-pointers matches the program record for most made threes in a game, tying two other instances of 12 triples for the Belles since 1988.

 

The Belles were strong on the glass with 65 rebounds, including 26 offensive boards, while the Comets collected 37 rebounds on the night. The 65 boards marks the most this season by Saint Mary's and was just four off of the program record of 69 set in the 2014-15 season.

 

Christina Shadid paced the Belles with 12 points on a quartet of three-pointers. Elle Deardorff added 10 points, and Julia Schutz just missed out on a double-double with nine points and a game-best and season-high 13 rebounds for her first double-digit rebounding effort of her collegiate career. Claire Bartz was also within striking distance of a double-double with eight points and a career-high nine rebounds. Nyah Porter tallied seven points and seven rebounds, and Maddie Rzepka chipped in seven points.

 

The Belles (6-16, 5-8 MIAA) are on the road for their final three games of the regular season, starting with a contest at Albion on Saturday. The matchup against the Brits is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.