NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Basketball earned a dominant 86-55 victory over Hiram College on Saturday in the final game of The Inn at Saint Mary's Classic. The Belles improve to 2-1 on the season while the Terriers fall to 0-3.
 
Saint Mary's came out of the gates hot, getting out to an early lead. After the game was tied up at four a piece, the Belles would go on an incredible 20-5 run to extend out to a 15 point lead towards the end of the first quarter. While Hiram cut the deficit slightly, Saint Mary's went into the second quarter with a strong 25-13 lead. As a team, the Belles went 8-14 from the field in the first quarter, half of their shots coming from three-point, going 4-7. Junior Annie Restovich (St. Louis, MO) got hot early, going 3-3 from three-point and finished the quarter with a game leading 10 points.
 
The Belles continued to dominate throughout the second quarter, offensively and defensively. The Saint Mary's lead never dropped below 13 points in the quarter as they knocked down eight more shots while forcing five turnovers in the quarter. The half ended after sophomore Kate Passinault (Grand Rapids, MI) nailed a hail mary shot from just beyond half court to extend the Belles lead to its highest of the half, 23 points, as Saint Mary's led 45-22 heading into halftime. Passinault and Restovich led the team with 13 points each in the half. The Belles outshot the Terriers 53.3% to 27.3% in the half while outshooting them 46.2% to 8.3% from three.
 
Saint Mary's continued to shoot well from the field to open the second half, knocking down six shots in the third quarter. The Belles saw their lead extend to 26 points multiple times, but the two teams finished the quarter with 16 points each as Saint Mary's led 61-38 after 30 minutes.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Belles offense never slowed down as they would score 20 or more points for the third time in the game. After freshman Caroline Langworthy (Cincinnati, OH) converted her and-one opportunity, the Belles lead would exceed 30 points for the first time and they only saw it drop below 30 for less than one and a half minutes for the remainder of the game. Saint Mary's saw their lead grow to its highest point with three minutes to play as Passinault knocked down a jumper to put the Belles ahead by 33.
 
Five Belles finished the game in double-figures as Passinault led the team with 15 points. Restovich and senior Nicole Connolly (Mokena, IL) both tallied 13 points while Langworthy and junior Kate Restovich (St. Louis, MO) each added 10. Passinault also led the team with six rebounds and snagged four steals for herself while freshman Liv Fry (Fort Wayne, IN) added five rebounds and dished out a game high seven assists.
 
Saint Mary's outshot Hiram 53.3% to 37.7% overall while outshooting them 35.3% to 5.9% from three-point, allowing the Terriers to knock down just one three pointer in the entire game. The Belles also shot an impressive 88.9% (16-18) from the free throw line. The Belles outrebounded the Terriers 39-32 on the game.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's will head to Hanover, IN next weekend as they compete in the Hanover Invitational. The Belles kick off the invitational with a matchup with Wilmington College on Friday, November 21, at 8pm. The Belles will then play either Hanover College or Eureka College on Saturday, November 22. The Belles then travel to Anderson University on November 25 to close out the road swing.