NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Trailing by six at the halftime break, the Saint Mary's basketball team fell short in an 87-56 final against conference foe Alma on Saturday afternoon.

 

The visiting Scots opened the game by out-scoring the Belles 8-2 over the first 2:38 of play. Julia Schutz made it a four-point game with a jump shot in the lane, and Elle Deardorff later pulled the Belles within three at 10-7 with a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining in the period. The Scots pushed their lead back to a two-possession margin with a second-chance bucket 30 seconds later. Devan Buda countered with back-to-back three-pointers for the Belles to put Saint Mary's ahead 13-12 with just over a minute to play in the quarter. Alma, however, capitalized on a steal with a layup at the other end to give the Scots a 14-13 lead through the first period of play.

 

Nikki Murphy converted both ends of a trip to the free throw line, and Mary Kate Gareau added a free throw of her own to edge the Belles within a point at 17-16 more than three minutes into the second quarter. Julia Schutz then used an old-fashioned three-point play on the next Saint Mary's possession to tie the game at 19-19 four minutes into the period. Alma regained a three-point lead, but Schutz had the answer yet again with a good three-pointer directly in front of the Alma bench to knot the game at 22-22. Brigid Fuller kept Saint Mary's close with a jump shot after the Scots regained the lead, but seven quick points by Alma extended the visitors' advantage to eight points at 32-24 with under three minutes to go before halftime. Claire Bartz put two points on the scoreboard with a layup, Schutz drained a pair of free throws, and Lauren Gumma sunk a three-pointer as the Belles battled to make it a 34-31 game with under a minute remaining on the clock. Alma hit a three-pointer of their own in the final seconds of the quarter to take the momentum and a 37-31 lead to the locker room.

 

Alma put the first six points on the scoreboard in the third quarter to extend their lead to 43-31. Schutz responded with a three-pointer and a layup to pull the Belles within nine points twice in the quarter, but Alma used a 12-0 run over the final 3:10 of the quarter to take a 59-38 lead into the final quarter.

 

Elle Deardorff scored eight of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Alexandria Swift added five points on a good three-pointer and a hard-fought layup. Saint Mary's, however, was unable to make a run against the Scots as Alma took the 87-56 decision.

 

The Scots mad 51.5 percent (34-of-66) of their shots from the floor in the contest, including 9-of-20 (45.0 percent) from behind the three-point arc. Saint Mary's was limited to a 29.2 percent (19-of-65) shooting effort from the floor while matching Alma's nine made three-pointers (9-of-25) in the contest.

 

Julia Schutz led the Belles with 15 points and added team-bests of six rebounds and three blocked shots. Elle Deardorff posted 11 points and paced the Belles with four assists. Devan Buda chipped in six points, and Alexandria Swift had five points for Saint Mary's. Jasmyne Townsend recorded her first career points for the Belles with a pair of free throws

 

The Belles (2-9, 1-3 MIAA) are off for the Christmas holiday and return to competition on December 29 when they take on Ohio Northern at noon on day one of the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Classic at Bluffton University in Ohio.