DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Saint Mary's basketball team fell in a 104-50 final against Simpson on day two of the Loras Holiday Classic on Saturday.

 

Julia Schutz got the Belles on the scoreboard with a driving layup on the first possession of the contest and added a three-pointer moments later for a 5-0 lead a minute into the contest. The Storm used a quick transition offense to get a layup seconds later before a defense to offense chance saw a steal yield three points for Simpson while tying the game 5-5. Another chance in transition put the Storm up 7-5, but Kate Restovich had the answer less than a minute later with a three-pointer for an 8-5 Saint Mary's advantage. The lead continued to go back-and-forth with Julia Schutz using a layup for a 10-9 lead for the Belles with under seven minutes on the clock. Athena Samson had the answer to a three-pointer by the Storm with a layup to knot the game at 12-12 with 6:13 on the clock. Simspon hit a shot on their next possession, and moved quickly from defense to offense on their next chance to build a 16-12 lead midway through the quarter. Mary Kate Gareau got the Belles back on the scoreboard with a free throw to make it a three-point difference with 4:44 to go in the quarter. The Storm, however, used a full-court press to turn the Belles over and while averaging less than 10 seconds per possession as Simpson used a game-changing 20-0 run for a 36-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 

The second quarter saw Julia Schutz open things up with a three-point play with a layup and the and-one free throw. Athena Samson had a pair of buckets, and Mary Kate Gareau added a pair of free throws as the Belles kept an even pace with the Storm in the period. Kate Restovich cleaned up the offensive glass and hit the put-back layup with under four minutes to go, and a Mary Kate Gareau jumper off of a feed from Nicole Connolly gave the Belles a 13-12 scoring advantage in the quarter with 2:38 on the clock. Simpson, however, converted a trio of late turnovers into points at the other end over the final two minutes of the quarter to hold a 54-26 lead at the half.

 

The Belles had trouble getting shots to fall throughout the third quarter of action as Saint Mary's was limited to 1-of-15 from the floor while the Storm hit 57.1 percent (12-of-21) attempts during the period. Julia Schutz connected on a three-pointer less than two minutes into the third, but Simpson went on to put the next 19 points on the scoreboard over a span of 4:45 despite the Belles getting several good looks at the bucket. Nyah Porter broke up the scoreless stretch with a free throw with 2:19 on the clock. A pair of late buckets by the Storm gave Simpson an 81-30 advantage going into the final period.

 

Much like the second quarter, the scoring throughout the fourth stanza was very even with the Storm edging the Belles 23-20 over the final ten minutes of play. Both sides hit over 45 percent of their shots during the final quarter of action, and the Belles held a 5-2 edge in made three-pointers during the fourth quarter. Lauren Gumma hit a layup in transition after an Alyssa Matuza steal and assist, and Elle Deardorff drained back-to-back three-pointers. Kate Restovich added a three-pointer of her own before Deardorff connected on her third triple of the quarter with under four minutes to play. Julia Schutz got in on the scoring with a pair of free throws, Deardorff dialed in another three-pointer, and Schutz added a late free throw in the 104-50 final.

 

Despite getting good looks at the basket on the offensive end, the Belles were held to a 29.8 percent (17-of-57) shooting effort in the contest. The Storm hit 46.3 percent (37-of-80) of their shots. The Storm made 10 three-pointers to the Belles' eight, and Simpson outscored Saint Mary's 41-4 in points off of turnovers in the contest.

 

Julia Schutz led the Belles with 16 points and added six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Elle Deardorff added 12 points - all on good three-pointers - and collected a pair of assists. Kate Restovich put up eight points and two assists. Athena Samson posted six points with 10 rebounds, Mary Kate Gareau added five points, Lauren Gumma tallied two points, and Nyah Porter had a point.

 

The Belles (3-9) are back in action on Wednesday, January 3 when they host Kalamazoo for a conference game at 6:00 p.m.