Posted: Jan 28, 2023
ADRIAN, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team edged within two points on more than one occasion down the stretch but were unable to complete the comeback on the road at Adrian in a 90-79 final on Saturday.
It was back and forth early with a free throw and layup by Athena Samson and a Julia Schutz steal and fastbreak layup the other way to give the Belles a 5-4 lead. The Bulldogs used a three-pointer to gain a 7-5 lead on a second-chance opportunity. The score remained unchanged over the next 2:02 until a pair of free throws put Adrian up 9-5. Schutz powered her way across the left side of the lane for a layup with three minutes to go in the quarter to make it an 11-7 score a short while later, but the Bulldogs hit a three-pointer the other way for a 14-7 lead. Nicole Connolly put the Belles back on track a couple of possessions later with a triple from the right side of the floor to make it a 16-10 game. A second-chance layup and a step-through layup by Adrian late in the quarter gave the host Bulldogs a 20-10 lead at the end of ten minutes of play.
A three-pointer by Maddie Rzepka off of a kick-out pass by Athena Samson made it a 22-13 game early in the second period. Adrian used a three-pointer on their next possession for a 25-13 advantage. Athena Samson hit a pair of free throws, Maddie Rzepka finished a strong layup on the left side of the bucket, and Rzepka finished a transition chance off of a feed from Elle Deardorff as the teams traded buckets. A turnover by the Bulldogs turned into a good pull-up jumper by Deardorff as the Belles cut the deficit to 27-21 as Adrian called a timeout. The Bulldogs capitalized on a pair of offensive boards with a bucket, but Saint Mary's came right back with a three-point play by Julia Schutz to make it a 29-24 score. The Belles traded two-for-three yet again after a Bulldog bucket with a three-pointer from Christina Shadid to cut the deficit to four at 31-27. Adrian, however, got the next two baskets to gain a 35-27 lead as the Belles called a timeout. With the Bulldogs ahead 38-28, Elle Deardorff connected from long distance on a three-pointer and Julia Schutz added to her point total with a layup to make it a five-point game at 38-33. A pair of defensive stops by the Belles followed by a put-back layup by Maddie Rzepka late in the quarter put Saint Mary's within five again at 40-35 as the game went to the halftime break.
A defensive stop by Saint Mary's followed by an Elle Deardorff jumper to start the third quarter put the Belles within a possession at 40-37. Adrian got a basket on their next possession and used a stop of their own to get another bucket for a 44-37 advantage. Three free throws over the course of two possessions put the Bulldogs up 47-37, but Nikki Murphy responded with a reverse layup. The senior missed the and-one opportunity. Athena Samson cleaned up the offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws to make it 47-41. A stop on the next Adrian possession led to a power move in the paint by Samson to make it a 47-43 game with 6:47 still remaining on the clock. Two free throws and a fastbreak layup by Adrian put the Bulldogs ahead 51-43. Nicole Connolly sunk a free throw, and strong ball movement by Saint Mary's led to an open layup for Rzepka to cut the deficit to five yet again at 51-46. Anne Goralczyk hit a turnaround jumper moments later to make it 53-48 midway through the quarter, and Elle Deardorff hit a tough layup as she was being fouled. The junior converted the three-point play as the Belles edged within 53-51 with four minutes to go in the period. Adrian scored on their next possession, but Goralczyk drained a jumper at the top of the key a short while later to again make it a two-point game at 55-53. Anne Goralczyk converted the second chance of a pair of free throws to make it 57-54, and the junior pulled down a big defensive board, got fouled, and added another free throw to put the score at 57-55 with under two minutes to go in the third quarter. Adrian got a long two-pointer on their next possession and sunk a big three-pointer on their next chance to push their lead to 62-55. The Belles had three looks at the bucket in the final seconds of the quarter but could not get the fortunate bounce as the game moved to the fourth period.
The Bulldogs scored on their first possession of the quarter and added a layup two possessions later to quickly extend their lead to double digits at 66-55. Julia Schutz converted a pair of free throws to get the Belles on the scoreboard. A mid-range jumper by Jasmyne Townsend and a three-pointer by Elle Deardorff made it a 70-62 game as the Bulldogs called a timeout as the Belles again made a push to erase the deficit. Adrian had a pair of free throws and used a Saint Mary's turnover to get a layup to go up 74-62 with more than five minutes remaining. Maddie Rzepka, Athena Samson, Anne Goralczyk, and Julia Schutzall tallied points, but the Bulldogs continued to find an answer on their offensive end to halt any chance at a scoring run by the Belles in the 90-79 final.
A three-pointer by Maddie Rzepka off of a kick-out pass by Athena Samson made it a 22-13 game early in the second period. Adrian used a three-pointer on their next possession for a 25-13 advantage. Athena Samson hit a pair of free throws, Maddie Rzepka finished a strong layup on the left side of the bucket, and Rzepka finished a transition chance off of a feed from Elle Deardorff as the teams traded buckets. A turnover by the Bulldogs turned into a good pull-up jumper by Deardorff as the Belles cut the deficit to 27-21 as Adrian called a timeout. The Bulldogs capitalized on a pair of offensive boards with a bucket, but Saint Mary's came right back with a three-point play by Julia Schutz to make it a 29-24 score. The Belles traded two-for-three yet again after a Bulldog bucket with a three-pointer from Christina Shadid to cut the deficit to four at 31-27. Adrian, however, got the next two baskets to gain a 35-27 lead as the Belles called a timeout. With the Bulldogs ahead 38-28, Elle Deardorff connected from long distance on a three-pointer and Julia Schutz added to her point total with a layup to make it a five-point game at 38-33. A pair of defensive stops by the Belles followed by a put-back layup by Maddie Rzepka late in the quarter put Saint Mary's within five again at 40-35 as the game went to the halftime break.
A defensive stop by Saint Mary's followed by an Elle Deardorff jumper to start the third quarter put the Belles within a possession at 40-37. Adrian got a basket on their next possession and used a stop of their own to get another bucket for a 44-37 advantage. Three free throws over the course of two possessions put the Bulldogs up 47-37, but Nikki Murphy responded with a reverse layup. The senior missed the and-one opportunity. Athena Samson cleaned up the offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws to make it 47-41. A stop on the next Adrian possession led to a power move in the paint by Samson to make it a 47-43 game with 6:47 still remaining on the clock. Two free throws and a fastbreak layup by Adrian put the Bulldogs ahead 51-43. Nicole Connolly sunk a free throw, and strong ball movement by Saint Mary's led to an open layup for Rzepka to cut the deficit to five yet again at 51-46. Anne Goralczyk hit a turnaround jumper moments later to make it 53-48 midway through the quarter, and Elle Deardorff hit a tough layup as she was being fouled. The junior converted the three-point play as the Belles edged within 53-51 with four minutes to go in the period. Adrian scored on their next possession, but Goralczyk drained a jumper at the top of the key a short while later to again make it a two-point game at 55-53. Anne Goralczyk converted the second chance of a pair of free throws to make it 57-54, and the junior pulled down a big defensive board, got fouled, and added another free throw to put the score at 57-55 with under two minutes to go in the third quarter. Adrian got a long two-pointer on their next possession and sunk a big three-pointer on their next chance to push their lead to 62-55. The Belles had three looks at the bucket in the final seconds of the quarter but could not get the fortunate bounce as the game moved to the fourth period.
The Bulldogs scored on their first possession of the quarter and added a layup two possessions later to quickly extend their lead to double digits at 66-55. Julia Schutz converted a pair of free throws to get the Belles on the scoreboard. A mid-range jumper by Jasmyne Townsend and a three-pointer by Elle Deardorff made it a 70-62 game as the Bulldogs called a timeout as the Belles again made a push to erase the deficit. Adrian had a pair of free throws and used a Saint Mary's turnover to get a layup to go up 74-62 with more than five minutes remaining. Maddie Rzepka, Athena Samson, Anne Goralczyk, and Julia Schutzall tallied points, but the Bulldogs continued to find an answer on their offensive end to halt any chance at a scoring run by the Belles in the 90-79 final.
Adrian out-rebounded Saint Mary's and had a scoring edge in the paint. The Belles, meanwhile, had the scoring advantage in points off of turnovers and fastbreak points against the Bulldogs.
Maddie Rzepka led the Belles 18 points in the contest. Julia Schutz added 15 points, and Athena Samson and Elle Deardorff each had 13 points. Anne Goralczyk posted eight points for the Belles. Nicole Connolly led the team with five assists and four rebounds to go with four points.
The Belles (6-14, 3-8 MIAA) travel to Kalamazoo for a 6:00 p.m. conference game on Wednesday night.