ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team came up short in an 88-54 final at No. 13 (WBCA Top 25) ranked Trine on Saturday.
Elle Deardorff got the Belles on the scoreboard with a jumper, and
Annie Restovich collected an offensive rebound before hitting a jump shot of her own to make it an 8-4 game three minutes into the contest. Deardorff drained a three-pointer on a kick-out pass by
Athena Samson a short while later to continue to keep Saint Mary's close at 11-7. The Thunder put the next seven points on the scoreboard before a layup by Samson made it an 18-9 game going into the second quarter.
The Belles had a response for Trine throughout the second period of play. Deardorff sunk another three, Samson put away a second-chance layup off an offensive rebound, and
Annie Restovich added a three-pointer to make it an eight-point game on three occasions early in the quarter. Saint Mary's got a pair of stops on the defensive end, and Deardorff added another bucket to pull the Belles within six at 25-19. The Thunder countered with six consecutive points, but Saint Mary's came right back with a three-point play by
Nicole Connolly to make it 31-24. The Belles continued to battle with
Caroline Roecker getting a bucket and the and-one free throw with a minute to go for a 35-27 score.
Athena Samson then added a late layup before the end of the period to make it 37-29 at the break as the Belles outscored the Thunder 20-19 in the quarter.
Saint Mary's scored on their first possession of the third quarter with a jumper in the paint by
Elle Deardorff to edge within six at 37-31. Trine, however, used a quick six-point spurt for a 43-31 lead. Deardorff hit a three-pointer moments later to again make it a single-digit deficit at 43-34 with seven minutes on the clock. The Thunder pushed their lead to 19 with four minutes left.
Annie Restovich knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to make it 56-43, and the freshman sunk yet another three with under a minute to go in the quarter to pull Saint Mary's within 13. The Thunder, however, added a triple of their own late for a 62-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Trine used an efficient shooting effort in the fourth quarter while the Belles had a tough time getting their shots to fall as the Thunder went on to outscore Saint Mary's 26-8 over the final ten minutes of play for the 88-54 final.
The Belles (1-7, 0-3 MIAA) have a break from competition until Sunday, December 17 when they host cross-town foe Holy Cross at 3:00 p.m.