ALBION, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team fell against an Albion side which is receiving votes in the WBCA Division III Coaches Poll in an 89-41 final on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Belles got on the scoreboard right away as Bella Dugas drained a layup on the first possession of the game. Jade Mosier then made it a 5-0 Saint Mary's advantage a minute and a half into the contest with a three-pointer from the right side of the floor. Albion, however, countered with a 13-0 run over the next four-plus minutes of play to gain a 13-5 edge. Giavanna Paradiso hit the tail end of a trip to the charity stripe before adding a layup less than a minute later to keep the Belles within striking distance at 16-8 with under three minutes remaining in the period. Seven consecutive points by Albion, however, saw the Brits gain a double-digit lead late in the quarter. Christina Shadid dialed in a three-pointer on the next possession as Saint Mary's trailed 23-11 at the first break.

 

The two sides traded buckets over the first two minutes of the second stanza with Giavanna Paradiso and Bella Dugas each hitting a shot for Saint Mary's. A Jade Mosier layup two minutes later made it a 14-point game at 31-17, but the Britons put back-to-back buckets up for a 36-17 advantage. Hannah Cavanaugh sunk a three-pointer, and Nikki Murphy added a baseline jump shot on the right side of the court to make it 36-22 with 3:40 remaining before the half. Albion, however, rattled eight consecutive points for a 44-22 lead with 1:32 on the clock. Paradiso broke up the scoring spurt with a jumper, and Sophie Koeppl had a late free throw for the Belles. The host Brits connected on a shot in the waning seconds of the quarter to carry a 48-25 lead into the halftime break.

 

Albion opened the third quarter on a 17-3 run over a span of 4:25 to gain a 63-28 advantage. The Brits maintained at least a 30-point lead over the remainder of the contest on their way to the 89-41 final.

 

The Brits shot 51.4 percent (36-of-70) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from behind the arc. The Belles, meanwhile, were limited to a 24.1 percent (14-of-58) effort from the floor and a 21.1 percent clip (4-of-19) from three-point range in the contest.

 

Giavanna Paradiso led the Belles with 16 points and nine rebounds with a game-high four steals. Hannah Cavanaugh added six points with two steals, and Jade Mosier chipped in five points. Bella Dugas posted four points on the night.

 

Saint Mary's (7-11, 4-5 MIAA) returns home to host Adrian on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.