Photo courtesy of Dan Horan.
Posted: Jan 22, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team could not get the ball to bounce their way as the Belles came up on the short end of a 71-43 final at Calvin on Saturday afternoon.
Christina Shadid drew a shooting foul to earn a trip to the charity stripe and hit the front end of her two attempts to get the Belles on the scoreboard. Trailing 7-1 midway through the quarter, Saint Mary's capitalized on a Calvin turnover when Lauren Gumma kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound and found Bella Dugas on the block for a good jump shot in the lane. The Belles got back-to-back stops on the defensive end but were unable to cut into the deficit over the next two minutes of play. The Knights pushed ahead with a three-pointer to make it a 10-3 game, but Julia Schutz connected on a long-range two-pointer to keep Saint Mary's close at 10-5. A pair of free throws and a fastbreak layup put the Knights up 14-5 through ten minutes of action.
The Knights gained a 21-5 before Maddie Rzepka connected on a pull-up jumper at the top of the lane. Anne Goralczyk picked up a steal and added a jumper of her own at the free throw line to make it 21-9. Goralczyk added a free throw and a long jump shot from the right baseline a short while later on a prolonged offensive possession to edge the Belles within 25-12 as the Knights called a timeout. Jasmyne Townsend got on the scoresheet with a layup, and Nikki Murphy found an open path to the basket for a layup of her own to push the score to 31-16. A free throw each by Rzepka and Townsend late in the quarter were responded with a late layup for Calvin as the Knights took a 35-18 halftime lead.
Christina Shadid hit a layup on the Belles' first possession of the third quarter, and Bella Dugas connected on a mid-range baseline jumper as Saint Mary's continued to battle to cut into the deficit. Shadid dialed in from long distance for a three-pointer, and Dugas used a power move through the lane before hitting a hesitation jump shot as the two sides traded baskets back-and-forth. A 10-0 run by the Knights, however, saw Calvin gain a 52-27 lead with 3:39 remaining in the quarter. Julia Schutz put the Belles back in the scoring column with a pair of free throws, but the bounces off the rim continued to go in favor of the home side as several good looks by Saint Mary's missed the mark. Claire Bartz broke a scoring drought from the floor for Saint Mary's with a good three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining on the clock. Morgan Flynn added a triple of her own on the next possession as the Belles tried to build some momentum late in the period. The Knights hit a three-pointer late in the quarter and held a 59-35 advantage going into the final stanza.
A 6-1 scoring advantage by Calvin extended the Knights' lead before Julia Schutz connected on a three-pointer from the right corner. Schutz then powered her way to a layup as the Belles continued to fight. Morgan Flynn had a response to a Calvin basket with a layup off of a feed from Schutz, but the Belles were unable to string together a sustained run in the 71-43 final.
The host Knights made 50.0 percent (32-of-64) of their shots from the floor in the game while the Belles could not get the right bounces in a 28.1 percent (16-of-57) effort. The Belles had a 21-18 edge in point production from non-starters, but Calvin held a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint.
Julia Schutz led Saint Mary's with nine points and shared team-high honors with five rebounds. Bella Dugas and Christina Shadid each notched six points, and Dugas added five rebounds. Anne Goralczyk and Morgan Flynn posted five points each.
Christina Shadid drew a shooting foul to earn a trip to the charity stripe and hit the front end of her two attempts to get the Belles on the scoreboard. Trailing 7-1 midway through the quarter, Saint Mary's capitalized on a Calvin turnover when Lauren Gumma kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound and found Bella Dugas on the block for a good jump shot in the lane. The Belles got back-to-back stops on the defensive end but were unable to cut into the deficit over the next two minutes of play. The Knights pushed ahead with a three-pointer to make it a 10-3 game, but Julia Schutz connected on a long-range two-pointer to keep Saint Mary's close at 10-5. A pair of free throws and a fastbreak layup put the Knights up 14-5 through ten minutes of action.
The Knights gained a 21-5 before Maddie Rzepka connected on a pull-up jumper at the top of the lane. Anne Goralczyk picked up a steal and added a jumper of her own at the free throw line to make it 21-9. Goralczyk added a free throw and a long jump shot from the right baseline a short while later on a prolonged offensive possession to edge the Belles within 25-12 as the Knights called a timeout. Jasmyne Townsend got on the scoresheet with a layup, and Nikki Murphy found an open path to the basket for a layup of her own to push the score to 31-16. A free throw each by Rzepka and Townsend late in the quarter were responded with a late layup for Calvin as the Knights took a 35-18 halftime lead.
Christina Shadid hit a layup on the Belles' first possession of the third quarter, and Bella Dugas connected on a mid-range baseline jumper as Saint Mary's continued to battle to cut into the deficit. Shadid dialed in from long distance for a three-pointer, and Dugas used a power move through the lane before hitting a hesitation jump shot as the two sides traded baskets back-and-forth. A 10-0 run by the Knights, however, saw Calvin gain a 52-27 lead with 3:39 remaining in the quarter. Julia Schutz put the Belles back in the scoring column with a pair of free throws, but the bounces off the rim continued to go in favor of the home side as several good looks by Saint Mary's missed the mark. Claire Bartz broke a scoring drought from the floor for Saint Mary's with a good three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining on the clock. Morgan Flynn added a triple of her own on the next possession as the Belles tried to build some momentum late in the period. The Knights hit a three-pointer late in the quarter and held a 59-35 advantage going into the final stanza.
A 6-1 scoring advantage by Calvin extended the Knights' lead before Julia Schutz connected on a three-pointer from the right corner. Schutz then powered her way to a layup as the Belles continued to fight. Morgan Flynn had a response to a Calvin basket with a layup off of a feed from Schutz, but the Belles were unable to string together a sustained run in the 71-43 final.
The host Knights made 50.0 percent (32-of-64) of their shots from the floor in the game while the Belles could not get the right bounces in a 28.1 percent (16-of-57) effort. The Belles had a 21-18 edge in point production from non-starters, but Calvin held a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint.
Julia Schutz led Saint Mary's with nine points and shared team-high honors with five rebounds. Bella Dugas and Christina Shadid each notched six points, and Dugas added five rebounds. Anne Goralczyk and Morgan Flynn posted five points each.
The Belles (3-14, 2-6 MIAA) continue a stretch of road contests as they travel to Kalamazoo on Monday, January 24 for a 6:00 p.m. contest against the Hornets.