NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team prevailed in a tight 71-68 final over visiting Adrian on Monday night.
Athena Samson had a free throw, and
Annie Restovich sunk a three-pointer to put the Belles within a possession of the Bulldogs twice in the opening two-plus minutes of play. Adrian used a three-pointer of their own and four free throws, however, to grow their lead to 13-4 with just over five minutes on the clock.
Mary Kate Gareau tried to get Saint Mary's back on track with a tough shot outside of the lane only to see the Bulldogs answer with another three-pointer for a 16-6 advantage.
Elle Deardorff converted a pair of free throws, and
Julia Schutz also hit a jumper to cut the deficit to six. The Bulldogs, however, continued their hot shooting from behind the arc with a three-pointer for a 19-10 lead with under three minutes to play in the quarter. Gareau made it a seven-point difference with a pair of free throws, and
Kate Restovich hit a driving layup just before the buzzer to make it a 19-14 score and give the Belles a burst of momentum going into the second quarter.
Kate Restovich opened the second period with a three-pointer, and the freshman guard added a layup moments later while
Athena Samson picked up assists on both buckets as the Belles twice edged within two points. A minute later,
Nicole Connolly pulled Saint Mary's even at 21-21 with a mid-range jumper.
Caroline Roecker drained a pull-up jumper on the next possession, and
Julia Schutz hit a layup and the and-one free throw for a 26-21 Saint Mary's lead. The Belles responded to an Adrian shot with another traditional three-point play by Schutz, and
Mary Kate Gareau followed suit with a driving layup plus the and-one free throw to give the Belles a 32-25 lead. After the teams traded points with
Annie Restovich hitting two chances at the charity stripe,
Elle Deardorff sunk a three-pointer to give the home side a nine-point advantage. Restovich then collected a steal and found
Lauren Gumma in transition for a fast-break layup for a 39-28 lead. Gumma added another layup on a solid back-door cut, and
Athena Samson hit a put-back shot late for a 43-33 advantage. The Belles got one more look at the basket in the period, and
Nicole Connolly connected on the baseline jumper at the buzzer to put Saint Mary's up 45-33 at the half after the Belles exploded for 31 points in the quarter.
A driving layup by
Elle Deardorff followed by a three-pointer on the fast break by
Kate Restovich gave the Belles a 50-35 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter. The two teams traded buckets back-and-forth over the next five minutes of action with Deardorff,
Julia Schutz, and
Caroline Roecker all hitting shots as Saint Mary's held a 56-41 advantage with 3:18 on the clock. Schutz added a layup a minute and a half later for a 58-44 lead with 1:26 to go, but the Bulldogs swayed the momentum in their favor with an 8-0 run over the final stretch of play in the quarter to make it 58-52 going into the fourth period.
The Belles could not get a shot to fall over the opening two-and-a-half minutes of play in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs drew even at 58-58.
Annie Restovich hit a clutch three-pointer in the corner off of a kick-out pass from
Elle Deardorff to put Saint Mary's ahead. The defense forced Adrian into a turnover, and
Athena Samson hit a jumper at the top of the key for a 63-58 lead with just under seven minutes to go. The Bulldogs responded with the next five points over a span of 2:33 of play to knot things up again at 63-63.
Kate Restovich hit a tough shot while being fouled and made the and-one free throw for a 66-63 lead, but Adrian came back with a three-point play of their own to tie things up once again. The tie did not last long as
Annie Restovich again connected on a key three-pointer on the next possession. The Bulldogs used a layup on their next chance to cut the Saint Mary's lead to one at 69-68. After both teams turned the ball over, Saint Mary's played a long stretch of solid possession as Adrian was forced to foul to try to get the ball back.
Athena Samson secured a huge offensive rebound, was fouled, and connected on both free throws with eight seconds to go for a 71-68 lead. The Belles locked in defensively as a contested last-second three-pointer by the Bulldogs was off the mark in the 71-68 final.
The Belles had the edge in second-chance points (17-6) and points off of turnovers (22-17) against the Bulldogs while Adrian held the advantage in points in the paint (30-26) and free throws made (16-13).
The Belles (5-11, 2-5 MIAA) are back at home on Wednesday when they host Albion at 7:00 p.m. for a conference game. The game will also be a Mental Health Awareness game in partnership with Morgan's Message.
