Posted: Jan 12, 2022
OLIVET, Mich. - Powered by a strong second quarter and point contribution from ten different players, the Saint Mary's basketball team prevailed over Olivet in a 74-62 conference final on Wednesday evening in the team's first game of the 2022 calendar year.
The Comets got on the scoreboard first before Anne Goralczyk hit a jump shot on the next Saint Mary's possession. Olivet took a 5-2 lead a short while later, but Bella Dugas used a put-back bucket and layup plus the and-one to put Saint Mary's ahead 7-5. Mary Kate Gareau added an offensive rebound and put-back effort of her own to extend the Saint Mary's advantage to 9-5 midway through the quarter. The Belles then turned defense to offense after a Christina Shadid blocked shot yielded a triple by the junior guard from the left corner at the other end to make it 12-5. The Comets got a pair back with two free throws, but Claire Bartz quickly regained the momentum for the Belles with a three-pointer of her own for a 15-7 lead. Olivet closed the gap with three consecutive buckets as the Belles called a timeout leading 15-13 with 2:52 remaining in the opening quarter. Lauren Gumma hit a runner in the paint after the timeout, but the Comets countered with a three-pointer to pull within a point at 17-16. Olivet knotted the score at 17-17 with a free throw before Bella Dugas continued her offensive tear in the opening period with a power layup. The host Comets scored on their next possession, and the game moved to the second quarter tied at 19-19.
Anne Goralczyk opened the scoring in the second quarter to regain the lead for the Belles. The Comets, however, countered with a three-pointer for a 22-21 lead. Goralczyk answered with her second good bucket in as many attempts, and Jasmyne Townsend buried a three-pointer on a second-chance opportunity for a 26-22 advantage. Devan Buda sunk a mid-range jumper, but the Comets came back with consecutive baskets to cut the lead to two points at 28-26. Claire Bartz hit her second three-pointer of the game to ensure the Belles maintained the lead, and a turnover by the Comets yielded a pair of good free throws by Bartz as the Belles pushed their lead to 33-26. After the teams traded buckets, both sides hit a scoreless drought for the next two minutes until Olivet cut the Saint Mary's lead to four points at 35-31 with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Caitlin Bonnesen connected on both ends of a trip to the charity stripe for a 37-31 lead for the Belles, and Alexandria Swift got on the scoresheet with a three-pointer of her own in the closing seconds of the quarter to give Saint Mary's a 40-31 lead going into the halftime break as the Belles out-scored the Comets 21-12 in the quarter.
Devan Buda started the offense for the Belles in the third period with a three-pointer, and back-to-back buckets by Goralczyk and Townsend saw Saint Mary's push the lead to 47-33 just two-and-a-half minutes into the quarter. Olivet scored on their next possession, but both teams again hit a streak where shots would not fall as the score remained locked at 47-35. Mary Kate Gareau got the Belles back on the scoreboard with a jumper. The Comets cut into the Saint Mary's lead with five consecutive points to push the score to 49-40 with just over two minutes remaining on the clock. Devan Buda had the answer for the Belles at the other end with a layup, and Lauren Gumma buried a three-pointer on the next Saint Mary's possession for a 54-40 lead. Olivet got a bucket back on their next opportunity before Christina Shadid connected on a free throw late in the quarter to give the Belles a 55-42 edge heading into the final period.
Jasmyne Townsend, Anne Goralczyk, and Devan Buda all scored early in the final quarter to give the Belles a 61-45 lead. Shadid dialed in another triple, and Goralczyk capped off a strong scoring night with a layup midway through the quarter for a 68-51 advantage. The Comets scored seven consecutive points over the next two minutes of play before Claire Bartz ended the scoring run with a good jumper. Olivet made another push to edge within eight points with two minutes remaining, but Buda closed out the game with a pair of free throws and a layup on her way to a career-high scoring night in the 74-62 win.
Saint Mary's pulled down a season-high 53 rebounds on the night while Olivet corralled just 38. That led to a strong scoring advantage in second-chance points against the Comets as Saint Mary's held a 17-2 edge over Olivet in the category.
Anne Goralczyk led all players with 16 points on the night. Devan Buda added career-highs of 13 points and seven rebounds, and Claire Bartz posted 10 points and collected five rebounds. Jasmyne Townsend had career-highs of seven points and seven rebounds in her first collegiate start for the Belles while Bella Dugas also added seven points and seven rebounds. Christina Shadid tallied seven points, and Mary Kate Gareau posted a game-high and career-best eight rebounds.
Gareau, Lauren Gumma, Caitlin Bonnesen, and Alexandria Swift all earned their way into the scoring column in the Belles' highest scoring output since November.
Saint Mary's (3-11, 2-3 MIAA) has a short turnaround as they travel to Kalamazoo on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. conference tilt against the Hornets.