NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team came up on the short end of a 101-41 final against No. 1 ranked Hope on Wednesday evening.

 

The first quarter was filled with action from start to finish as both teams played at a high tempo. Hope scored first before a back-door cut by Maddie Rzepka yielded a layup for the Belles a minute later tied the game early. The Flying Dutch extended their lead to seven points at 9-2, but Christina Shadid sunk a pair of free throws before Anne Goralczyk buried a mid-range jumper to keep the Belles within striking distance at 9-4 and 11-6. The Flying Dutch got a bucket on their next possession, but Maddie Rzepka collected a steal to lead to another Goralczyk jumper to make it 13-8 midway through the quarter. Julia Schutz added a free throw to cut the deficit to just four points 30 seconds later. Morgan Flynn later added a tough layup with just over three minutes remaining on the clock as the Belles continued to battle in a 17-11 contest. The Flying Dutch the next six points on the scoreboard to extend their lead to 24-11. Anne Goralczyk added to the scoresheet with a turnaround jump shot, and Lauren Gumma swiped a steal and scored the fastbreak bucket late in the quarter as the Belles trailed 27-15 after one quarter.

 

Bella Dugas hit a layup early in the second quarter for Saint Mary's, and Christina Shadid dialed in a three-pointer as the Belles twice made it a 15-point game against a Hope team which is second in NCAA Division III in scoring. The Flying Dutch, however, extended their lead with a 17-2 run over the next four minutes of play for a 52-22 lead. Saint Mary's continued to battle their way to good shots, but the Belles could not get the favorable bounce on offense. Julia Schutz and Goralczyk each chipped in a two-point bucket, and Bella Dugas connected on a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half. It would be the Flying Dutch, though, that took the momentum into the halftime break with a 61-27 advantage.

 

Hope maintained a sizable lead throughout the third and fourth quarters before claiming the 101-41 final.

 

The Belles and the Flying Dutch posted matching offensive rebound efforts of 14 in the contest while Hope held the edge in defensive boards and overall rebounds in the game. Saint Mary's forced Hope into a season-high 18 turnovers on the night while the Belles turned the ball over just one more time than the Flying Dutch in the contest.

 

Christina Shadid and Anne Goralczyk shared team-high honors with 10 points apiece to pace the Belles. Shadid added a pair of rebounds along with a steal and an assist. Goralczyk led the team with four rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots. Maddie Rzepka and Bella Dugas each chipped in six points while Dugas pulled down four boards. Nikki Murphy had a team-best three assists on the night.

 

The Belles (3-13, 2-5 MIAA) are on the road on Saturday as they take on Calvin at 1:00 p.m.