ALMA, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team came up short in a 75-49 final at Alma on Monday night.
In an unusual opportunity, the Belles had the chance to get the lead before the opening whistle as Maddie Rzepka hit a free throw after Saint Mary's was awarded a trip to the charity stripe prior to tip-off. The Scots scored on their first two possessions of the game, but Rzepka added a long-range jumper to make it a 5-3 game in as both teams pushed the tempo of play early. A defensive stop led to Julia Schutz driving to the bucket, drawing the foul, and converting both free throw attempts to knot the game at 5-5. The Scots put the next four points on the scoreboard, but a Bella Dugas jumper right in front of the Alma bench saw the Scots call a timeout. Claire Bartz then hit a driving layup for a 10-9 Saint Mary's lead with 4:15 to play in the quarter. The Scots, however, used a pair of three-pointers and two additional buckets to close out the period with a 19-10 lead.
Julia Schutz continued to find success on the offensive end as the freshman used an offensive rebound and put-back bucket to cut the deficit to seven. A short while later, Bella Dugas used a layup of her own to make it a 21-14 game. Schutz dialed in from three-point range on the next Saint Mary's possession as the Belles cut the deficit to 23-17 just two minutes into the period. After an Alma jump shot extended the margin back to eight, Schutz again found the answer with a good jump shot from close range to make it 25-19. The home side Scots countered with a 7-0 spurt as the Belles could not get a pair of shots to fall as Saint Mary's called a timeout, trailing 32-19 with 3:54 remaining before halftime. Alma extended their lead out of that timeout as the Scots pulled ahead 38-19 until Maddie Rzepka drained a three-pointer. Rzepka then added a pair of free throws late in the quarter, but a three-pointer by Alma made it a 41-24 game at the half.
Alma opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, but Bella Dugas connected on a jump shot at the top of the lane. The sides traded points with Julia Schutz and Maddie Rzepka each adding to their scoring totals. Mary Kate Gareau got into the scoring column with a free throw to make it 51-32, but a pair of free throws and a turnaround jump shot in the lane plus the and-one extended Alma's advantage to 56-32 with just over four minutes to play in the third stanza. Elle Deardorff got the ball back for the Belles with a jump ball, and Bella Dugas powered right-to-left through the lane for a layup as the Belles continued to compete. Nikki Murphy picked the pocket of the player she was defending in the backcourt and got an easy layup to make it 58-36 going into the final quarter.
After the Scots hit back-to-back baskets to start the period, Julia Schutz connected on a three-pointer to put the Belles on the scoreboard. Maddie Rzepka added a free throw, but the Belles were unable to put together a sustained run against the Scots to close the gap. Morgan Flynn found a cutting Murphy a short while later as Murphy hit her second layup in as many attempts. Rzepka came away with a steal, and Saint Mary's drew three fouls on the next possession to eventually send Bella Dugas to the charity stripe. Dugas connected on her second attempt from the line. The defense got back-to-back stops, and Dugas hit a baseline jumper to make it a 68-45 score. A three-point play by Schutz with two minutes to play, but the Belles were unable to edge any closer in the 75-49 final.
Alma held the rebounding advantage with 47 boards to the Belles' 35 in the contest. The Belles committed a season-low seven turnovers in the game but were unable to capitalize on 12 giveaways by the Scots in the game as Alma had a narrow 8-3 scoring margin in points off turnovers.
Julia Schutz posted her second-consecutive double-double with a team-high 17 points and a game-best 10 rebounds with two blocked shots. Maddie Rzepka chipped in 13 points with two assists, and Bella Dugas tallied 11 points on a 5-of-7 shooting performance. Nikki Murphy added four points and two assists.
The Belles (6-18, 5-10 MIAA) close out the regular season on Wednesday when they travel to Trine for a 7:30 p.m. conference game.