Second Quarter Dry Spell Sinks Belles Against Eagles
Saint Mary's Stories
- Gabby Diamond led all players with a career-high 28 points while adding a pair of blocked shots.
- Erin Maloney posted nine points and a season-best seven assists while committing no turnovers.
- Gabby Crown and Delaney Rohlman each chipped in five points.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team was plagued by an extended dry spell from the floor, and visiting Benedictine capitalized by distancing themselves for good in an 87-58 final on Wednesday night.
The Belles and the Eagles matched each other shot for shot during the first quarter of play. Benedictine claimed a pair of five-point leads midway through the period, but Saint Mary's came right back with a response bucket both times. Gabby Diamond was responsible for six consecutive points for the Belles as Saint Mary's cut within 11-10 of the Eagles. A free throw and a layup saw Benedictine edge ahead 14-10 with over two minutes remaining in the first quarter, but Gabby Crown drained a three pointer two possessions later to make it 14-13 with 1:16 left on the clock. The Eagles, however, were able to build some momentum going into the second period after a late blocked shot at one end turned into a fastbreak bucket at the other end for the 16-13 Benedictine lead at the end of the quarter.
The Eagles scored on four of their first five possessions of the second quarter while the Belles converted one possession of the opening five as Benedictine pushed their lead to double digits at 26-15. Crown hit a pair of free throws, and Erin Maloney sunk a jump shot to pull Saint Mary's back within seven points at 26-19. A quick three-pointer the other way gave Benedictine a ten-point lead with 6:12 left before halftime. From the midway point of the quarter on, the Eagles capitalized on some hot shooting while the Belles had a tough time getting shots to fall. That translated to a 19-4 run over the final five minutes of the period for Benedictine as the Eagles held a 48-23 lead at the break.
The two sides played a much more balanced third quarter, but the visiting Eagles extended their lead to 33 points at 71-38 in the final minute of the period. The fourth quarter saw the Belles fall behind 79-41 with 7:41 on the clock. Saint Mary's, however, went on to outscore Benedictine by a 15-9 margin over the final 7:20 while putting 18 points up in the quarter to the Eagles' 16 for the 87-58 final.
The Belles held a 28-26 edge over the Eagles in points in the paint. Benedictine connected on better than 40 percent of their three-pointers (14-of-29) while Saint Mary's was unable to match the outside shooting performance (3-of-13 - 23.1 percent) of their counterparts. The Eagles also pulled down 57 rebounds to the Belles' 37 on the night.
Gabby Diamond led all players with a career-high 28 points while adding a pair of blocked shots. Erin Maloney posted nine points and a season-best seven assists while committing no turnovers. Gabby Crown and Delaney Rohlman each chipped in five points, and Kelsey Ronan tallied four points and five rebounds.
The Belles (1-4) open MIAA competition this Saturday when they travel to Albion for a 3:00 p.m. contest against the Brits.