Belles Prevail Against Thunder
Saint Mary's Stories
ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team earned a 59-50 conference win at Trine on Saturday afternoon.
Saint Mary's turned a 3-0 deficit to open play into an 8-3 lead on a layup by Krista Knapke, back-to-back drained jumpers by Maddie Kohler, and a good two-point basket by Ariana Paul.
Despite Trine's best efforts, that lead turned out to be one that the Belles would not relinquish. Five straight points late in the first half pulled the Thunder within a point of Saint Mary's at 19-18 with 3:16 left on the clock. The Belles responded in a big way by mounting an 8-0 run over the next 1:44 to take a 27-18 lead a minute and a half before the break. But a late bucket by Trine made it a 27-20 game in favor of the Belles at the half.
Trine opened the second half with a good jump shot off of a turnover, but again the Belles came through with the response to push their lead to 11 points at 33-22 two minutes into the second period.
Midway through the half, the Thunder put together a rally to edge within 42-38 with 10:21 to go, but the Belles continued to keep Trine at bay with six straight points for the 48-38 advantage.
Over the final nine minutes of play Trine could not get within fewer than six points of the Saint Mary's lead as the Belles claimed the nine-point victory.
The Belles held a 50-32 edge over the Thunder on the glass and pulled down 40 defensive rebounds to Trine's 26. Saint Mary's also connected on 17 of their 27 free throw attempts while the Thunder went 7-of-19 from the line.
Shanlynn Bias paced the Belles with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds. Krista Knapke added 10 points as nine different players contributed points in the win. Ariana Paul led all players with 14 rebounds, and Paul, Maddie Kohler, and Eleni Shea each tallied eight points for the winning cause.
The Belles (6-13, 4-6 MIAA) travel to Calvin for a 7:30 p.m. MIAA contest against the Knights on Wednesday, February 5.