Belles Fall Short Against Bulldogs

Box Score

• Ally Steve paced the Belles with 15 points.
• Erin Maloney added nine points and seven rebounds.
• Gabby Diamond chipped in six points and eight rebounds.

ADRIAN, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team fell 69-46 in an MIAA contest at Adrian on Saturday afternoon.

The Belles and the Bulldogs opened up the game matching one another shot for shot before host Adrian used a 7-0 run to take a 12-4 lead midway through the opening quarter. Megan Will put a stop to that run with a three-pointer, and Erin Maloney drained a jump shot a minute and a half later to make it a 12-9 game with 3:31 left in the period. A layup and a second-chance bucket put the Bulldogs ahead 16-9, but Olivia Lathers hit both ends of a trip to the free throw line to make it a two-possession game at 16-11. Adrian, however, closed out the opening quarter with eight points in a span of 1:04 to hold a 24-13 lead at the first break.

The second quarter was a defensive battle between the two sides as Adrian and Saint Mary's combined to score 17 points. The Belles opened the period with a free throw by Kelsey Ronan, a three-pointer by Erin Maloney, and a pair of free throws by Maloney to make it a five-point game at 24-19 with more than six minutes remaining on the clock. Adrian responded with baskets on consecutive possessions and regained a double-digit lead with a free throw and a layup. Gabby Diamond made it a 10-point game with under two minutes on the clock as both teams struggled to get shots to fall in the period, but the Bulldogs went into the break with a 12-point lead after a layup in the final minute put them ahead 33-21.

Saint Mary's came out firing in the third quarter as the Belles scored on three of their first five possessions to cut the deficit to single digits. Ally Steve opened the stanza with a three-pointer, and Kelsey Ronan made a strong post move in the paint to sink a layup to make it a 33-26 game just a minute into the quarter. Maloney then added a second-chance layup with 7:22 on the clock to keep the Belles within striking distance at 35-28. A quick scoring spurt saw Adrian push their lead back to double-digits after claiming at 45-32 advantage with 4:03 on the clock. Steve and Aspen Davis each put up a pair of points to make it a 46-36 score with under two minutes remaining in the third period, but the Bulldogs put up six points to the Belles' one over the final few minutes of the quarter to go up 52-37 going into the final stanza.

Adrian opened the final quarter with a three-pointer and a layup to push their lead to 57-37. The Belles made a strong push in the final minutes of the game as Saint Mary's continued to battle. Ally Steve hit a free throw, Caroline Macius sunk a layup, and Steve converted an acrobatic three-point play with a layup and the plus-one free throw for a quick six points with less than two minutes left in the contest. The Bulldogs, however, were able to maintain at least a 20-point lead down the stretch in the 69-46 final.

The Belles were hurt by 26 turnovers in the game while the Bulldogs committed 16 give aways. Adrian also held a 60-49 advantage in rebounding, including a 27-17 edge in offensive boards. Second-chance points and points off of turnovers gave the host Adrian a +16 margin in points in the contest over Saint Mary's.

Ally Steve paced the Belles with 15 points. Erin Maloney added nine points and seven rebounds. Gabby Diamond chipped in six points and eight rebounds. Aspen Davis tallied five points, and Kelsey Ronan put four points on the scoreboard for the Belles.

The Belles (1-8, 0-4 MIAA) travel to Nevada to take on No. 16 Montclair State and California Lutheran in the Las Vegas Hoopla on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 20 and 21.