ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team came up short in an 88-54 final at No. 13 (WBCA Top 25) ranked Trine on Saturday.

 

Elle Deardorff got the Belles on the scoreboard with a jumper, and Annie Restovich collected an offensive rebound before hitting a jump shot of her own to make it an 8-4 game three minutes into the contest. Deardorff drained a three-pointer on a kick-out pass by Athena Samson a short while later to continue to keep Saint Mary's close at 11-7. The Thunder put the next seven points on the scoreboard before a layup by Samson made it an 18-9 game going into the second quarter.

 

The Belles had a response for Trine throughout the second period of play. Deardorff sunk another three, Samson put away a second-chance layup off an offensive rebound, and Annie Restovich added a three-pointer to make it an eight-point game on three occasions early in the quarter. Saint Mary's got a pair of stops on the defensive end, and Deardorff added another bucket to pull the Belles within six at 25-19. The Thunder countered with six consecutive points, but Saint Mary's came right back with a three-point play by Nicole Connolly to make it 31-24. The Belles continued to battle with Caroline Roecker getting a bucket and the and-one free throw with a minute to go for a 35-27 score. Athena Samson then added a late layup before the end of the period to make it 37-29 at the break as the Belles outscored the Thunder 20-19 in the quarter.

 

Saint Mary's scored on their first possession of the third quarter with a jumper in the paint by Elle Deardorff to edge within six at 37-31. Trine, however, used a quick six-point spurt for a 43-31 lead. Deardorff hit a three-pointer moments later to again make it a single-digit deficit at 43-34 with seven minutes on the clock. The Thunder pushed their lead to 19 with four minutes left. Annie Restovich knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to make it 56-43, and the freshman sunk yet another three with under a minute to go in the quarter to pull Saint Mary's within 13. The Thunder, however, added a triple of their own late for a 62-46 lead going into the fourth quarter.

 

Trine used an efficient shooting effort in the fourth quarter while the Belles had a tough time getting their shots to fall as the Thunder went on to outscore Saint Mary's 26-8 over the final ten minutes of play for the 88-54 final.

 

Annie Restovich scored a season-high 19 points with five three-pointers on the day. The freshman added three rebounds and a steal in the contest. Elle Deardorff had 15 points with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Athena Samson chipped in six points with a team-high eight rebounds, and Nicole Connolly and Caroline Roecker each had five points and two rebounds for the Belles. Kate Restovich tallied five assists, and Nyah Porter pulled down four rebounds.

 

The Belles (1-7, 0-3 MIAA) have a break from competition until Sunday, December 17 when they host cross-town foe Holy Cross at 3:00 p.m.