Belles Defeated by Ranked Flying Dutch

Box Score

HOLLAND, Mich. - Already facing off against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, the Saint Mary's basketball team squared off against #15/22 Hope and found themselves on the wrong side of a 74-56 decision on Wednesday.

Less than five minutes into the game, Hope took an 11-point lead by going up 16-5. Saint Mary's responded with the next four points in-a-row to cut the lead to six points. It was then the Flying Dutch's turn to go on a run with a 13-4 spurt for a 29-14 lead with 6:14 to go before the break. The Belles also had 17 first half turnovers and were unable to score a field goal over the final five-plus minutes in the first half as they trailed 34-19 at the half.

The Belles looked to make a comeback in the second half as they continued to chip away at Hope's lead. The game went back-and-forth between a nine-point difference and an eleven-point difference midway through the half. Saint Mary's was then able to score the game's next six points over a four-minute span to cut the lead to just five at 53-48. Hope, however, was then responsible for the next six points of the game to regain a double-digit advantage. Saint Mary's made it a nine-point contest at 59-50, but the Flying Dutch used a 9-0 run to double their lead and pull away from the Belles.

Saint Mary's had eight more shots from the floor than Hope while out-rebounding the Flying Dutch in the contest.

Jessica Centa led the Belles with 12 points. Kelley Murphy added 10 points and team-highs for rebounds (7) and steals (4).

The Belles (3-6, 1-2 MIAA) will have over a week off as they reach the bye in their league schedule and enter finals week next week. The next contest for Saint Mary's will be at home on Saturday, December 17 when they host #2-ranked University of Chicago.