NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team prevailed in a tight 71-68 final over visiting Adrian on Monday night.

 

Athena Samson had a free throw, and Annie Restovich sunk a three-pointer to put the Belles within a possession of the Bulldogs twice in the opening two-plus minutes of play. Adrian used a three-pointer of their own and four free throws, however, to grow their lead to 13-4 with just over five minutes on the clock. Mary Kate Gareau tried to get Saint Mary's back on track with a tough shot outside of the lane only to see the Bulldogs answer with another three-pointer for a 16-6 advantage. Elle Deardorff converted a pair of free throws, and Julia Schutz also hit a jumper to cut the deficit to six. The Bulldogs, however, continued their hot shooting from behind the arc with a three-pointer for a 19-10 lead with under three minutes to play in the quarter. Gareau made it a seven-point difference with a pair of free throws, and Kate Restovich hit a driving layup just before the buzzer to make it a 19-14 score and give the Belles a burst of momentum going into the second quarter.

 

Kate Restovich opened the second period with a three-pointer, and the freshman guard added a layup moments later while Athena Samson picked up assists on both buckets as the Belles twice edged within two points. A minute later, Nicole Connolly pulled Saint Mary's even at 21-21 with a mid-range jumper. Caroline Roecker drained a pull-up jumper on the next possession, and Julia Schutz hit a layup and the and-one free throw for a 26-21 Saint Mary's lead. The Belles responded to an Adrian shot with another traditional three-point play by Schutz, and Mary Kate Gareau followed suit with a driving layup plus the and-one free throw to give the Belles a 32-25 lead. After the teams traded points with Annie Restovich hitting two chances at the charity stripe, Elle Deardorff sunk a three-pointer to give the home side a nine-point advantage. Restovich then collected a steal and found Lauren Gumma in transition for a fast-break layup for a 39-28 lead. Gumma added another layup on a solid back-door cut, and Athena Samson hit a put-back shot late for a 43-33 advantage. The Belles got one more look at the basket in the period, and Nicole Connolly connected on the baseline jumper at the buzzer to put Saint Mary's up 45-33 at the half after the Belles exploded for 31 points in the quarter. 

 

A driving layup by Elle Deardorff followed by a three-pointer on the fast break by Kate Restovich gave the Belles a 50-35 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter. The two teams traded buckets back-and-forth over the next five minutes of action with Deardorff, Julia Schutz, and Caroline Roecker all hitting shots as Saint Mary's held a 56-41 advantage with 3:18 on the clock. Schutz added a layup a minute and a half later for a 58-44 lead with 1:26 to go, but the Bulldogs swayed the momentum in their favor with an 8-0 run over the final stretch of play in the quarter to make it 58-52 going into the fourth period.

 

The Belles could not get a shot to fall over the opening two-and-a-half minutes of play in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs drew even at 58-58. Annie Restovich hit a clutch three-pointer in the corner off of a kick-out pass from Elle Deardorff to put Saint Mary's ahead. The defense forced Adrian into a turnover, and Athena Samson hit a jumper at the top of the key for a 63-58 lead with just under seven minutes to go. The Bulldogs responded with the next five points over a span of 2:33 of play to knot things up again at 63-63. Kate Restovich hit a tough shot while being fouled and made the and-one free throw for a 66-63 lead, but Adrian came back with a three-point play of their own to tie things up once again. The tie did not last long as Annie Restovich again connected on a key three-pointer on the next possession. The Bulldogs used a layup on their next chance to cut the Saint Mary's lead to one at 69-68. After both teams turned the ball over, Saint Mary's played a long stretch of solid possession as Adrian was forced to foul to try to get the ball back. Athena Samson secured a huge offensive rebound, was fouled, and connected on both free throws with eight seconds to go for a 71-68 lead. The Belles locked in defensively as a contested last-second three-pointer by the Bulldogs was off the mark in the 71-68 final.

 

The Belles had the edge in second-chance points (17-6) and points off of turnovers (22-17) against the Bulldogs while Adrian held the advantage in points in the paint (30-26) and free throws made (16-13).

 

Kate Restovich led the Belles' balanced scoring efforts with 13 points. Julia Schutz added 12 points with six rebounds, and Annie Restovich posted 11 points and three assists with two steals. Elle Deardorff had nine points with three assists, and Athena Samson and Mary Kate Gareau each tallied seven points. Nicole Connolly, Lauren Gumma, and Caroline Roecker each notched four points. Samson and Connolly shared team-high honors with nine rebounds as Connolly set a new career-high mark in boards, and Samson registered a career-high six assists. Gareau matched her career-high mark with three steals.

 

The Belles (5-11, 2-5 MIAA) are back at home on Wednesday when they host Albion at 7:00 p.m. for a conference game. The game will also be a Mental Health Awareness game in partnership with Morgan's Message.