FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team fell in an 85-56 final at Franklin on Wednesday night in the season opener for both squads.
The teams traded buckets back-and-forth early on in the contest.
Elle Deardorff drained a three-pointer on the Belles' first possession of the contest. Saint Mary's responded to a Grizzlies three with a good pull up jumper by
Kate Restovich for the 5-3 advantage. A minute later, it was
Julia Schutz who hit a jumper to keep the Belles ahead by a 7-4 margin. Franklin responded with seven quick points to gain an 11-7 advantage before Schutz broke up the run with a free throw with 5:27 on the clock. Schutz connected on another free throw a short while later, but the shots from the floor were not falling for Saint Mary's as the Grizzlies built a 17-9 lead with three minutes remaining in the period.
Athena Samson got the Belles back on track with a layup, and
Mary Kate Gareau added a layup and the and-one free throw to pull Saint Mary's within three at 17-14. Carly Sherfield connected on a layup to make it a two-point game with 1:43 on the clock, but back-to-back buckets by the Grizzlies saw Franklin go up 21-15.
Jasmyne Townsend added to the spread scoring effort in the quarter with a three-pointer late to make it 21-18. The Grizzlies tallied two late free throws to hold a 23-18 lead at the quarter break.
Kate Restovich opened the second period with a pair of free throws, and
Nicole Connolly hit a jump shot a short while later to cut the deficit to one at 23-22. The Grizzlies responded with a three-pointer to make it a two-possession lead. Both sides hit a scoreless stretch until a layup by Franklin made it 28-22.
Kate Restovich got back in the scoring column with two more free throws, but the home side posted the next six points over a minute-and-a-half span for a 34-24 advantage.
Elle Deardorff and
Athena Samson each put points on the scoreboard while the Grizzlies continued to have a response to the Belles throughout the period.
Annie Restovich tallied her first collegiate bucket as Saint Mary's continued to battle. Trailing 45-30 with under a minute to go before halftime,
Nicole Connolly gave the Belles a big boost late. The sophomore hit a jumper and the and-one free throw before cutting up the right side of the floor and hitting a turnaround jumper just before the buzzer to make it 46-35 at the half.
Early buckets by Franklin made it a 54-37 difference three minutes into the quarter. Connolly continued to find a way offensively with a layup, and
Lauren Gumma added a layup of her own a minute later. The Grizzlies, however, continued to counter with multiple points in response to the start of any attempt at a run by the Belles and gained a 60-41 lead.
Athena Samson tried to get the offense going with a layup and an old-fashioned three-point play late, but three buckets by the Grizzlies gave Franklin a 68-46 edge heading into the final period.
The Belles got stops early in the fourth on the defensive side of the ball and held the Grizzlies without a field goal for more than four minutes. Saint Mary's, however, continued to have trouble getting shots to fall despite getting several good looks at the rim.
Lauren Gumma connected on a put-back bucket, Carly Sherfield and
Alyssa Matuza each had a free throw, and
Annie Restovich sunk a late three-pointer, but the Belles fell short in an 85-56 final on the road.
The Belles out-rebounded the Grizzlies 44-40 on the night with a 16-9 edge in offensive rebounds. That translated to a 18-13 advantage in second-chance points for Saint Mary's. Franklin took advantage of 22 turnovers while turning the ball over nine times on the night for a 22-9 edge in points off of giveaways.
The Belles (0-1) look to bounce back when they host Dominican for the Belles' home opener on Saturday starting at 2:00 p.m.
