NOTRE DAME, Ind. - A 10-0 run early in the second quarter distanced the Belles from visiting Kalamazoo and Saint Mary's led by at least 14 points over the remainder of the contest in an 83-53 victory over the Hornets on Wednesday night.
The two sides traded buckets back-and-forth to open play.
Maddie Rzepka connected on a jumper on the first possession and added a fastbreak layup a minute later. After Kalamazoo hit a three-pointer for a 5-4 lead,
Athena Samson got the lead right back for the home side with a layup at the other end. Rzepka connected on another layup and converted the three-point play a minute later for a 9-5 advantage.
Anne Goralczyk gave Saint Mary's an 11-6 lead on two free throws, but another Kalamazoo three-pointer cut the lead to two before a layup by the Hornets tied things up at 11-11 with under four minutes remaining in the opening period. Rzepka hit a shot on the next Saint Mary's possession, and a
Christina Shadid layup followed by two more Goralczyk free throws put the Belles up 17-11. Kalamazoo pulled within three points, but Rzepka again had the answers offensively with a three-pointer and a layup for 14 first-quarter points.
Jasmyne Townsend dialed in a three of her own at the top of the key late in the period, and the Belles held a 25-17 lead at the first break.
The Hornets put the first point on the scoreboard in the second quarter with a free throw. Saint Mary's responded with a 10-0 run with eight points from
Julia Schutz and a two-point bucket in the paint by
Elle Deardorff for a 35-18 advantage.
Christina Shadid sunk a pair of three-pointers, and
Jasmyne Townsend added a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper as the Belles out-scored Kalamazoo 18-9 in the quarter for a 43-26 halftime lead.
Nikki Murphy hit a tough reverse layup for the Belles early in the third quarter,
Athena Samson hit back-to-back layups, and
Julia Schutz had a fastbreak layup and a three-point play for a 54-29 Saint Mary's lead less than four minutes into the period.
Christina Shadid added a pair of three-pointers to keep the momentum on the Belles' side as Saint Mary's held at least a 21-point lead down the stretch in the third stanza.
Samson and Deardorff combined for nine points in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter.
Lauren Gumma added a three-pointer of her own, and
Alyssa Matuza hit the first field goal of her collegiate career with an offensive rebound and put-back layup for a 76-48 lead midway through the final period. Gumma then drained two free throws and another three-pointer, and
Mary Kate Gareau hit a shot in the paint as the Belles claimed the 83-53 home win.
The Belles held the scoring edge in the paint by out-scoring the Hornets 38-16 in the lane and had 35 points from non-starters to Kalamazoo's nine. The Hornets were 23-of-37 from the charity stripe while Saint Mary's hit 11-of-18 free throw attempts in the game. The Belles hit double-digit three-pointers for the second time this year with 10 good triples and tied for their season-low mark in turnovers with 10.
The Belles (5-9, 2-3 MIAA) travel to in-state conference foe Trine on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. contest against the Thunder.