NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team came up short in an 80-42 final on Senior Day against visiting Albion on Saturday afternoon.

 

Albion scored on the opening possession. Saint Mary's came right back with a solid offensive set which saw high-level passing lead to a wide open layup for Athena Samson. The Brits put back-to-back buckets on the scoreboard for a 7-2 lead two minutes into play. Maddie Rzepka hit a tough layup, drew the foul, and converted the free throw for the three-point play on the Belles' next chance to make it a 7-5 game. Rzepka had the response bucket again a short while later with a good mid-range jump shot to cut the deficit to four at 11-7 with 4:20 still to go in the opening stanza. The teams traded points with Elle Deardorff hitting a pair of free throws and Anne Goralczyk connecting from just inside the three-point line to beat the shot clock as the Belles kept close at 16-11 with two minutes to go. Consecutive baskets by the Brits gave Albion a 20-11 lead late in the quarter, but Mary Kate Gareau sunk a jumper of her own late as Saint Mary's stayed well within striking distance at 20-13 heading into the second period.

 

Maddie Rzepka opened the next quarter with a free throw to shave the deficit to six at 20-14. Albion, however, used an 18-0 run over the next seven-plus minutes to build a 38-14 lead with two minutes to play in the quarter. Anne Goralczyk powered her way to a layup to break up the scoreless stretch with 1:30 to play in the half. Christina Shadid injected some energy into the home side with a good three-pointer on the next possession to make it a 40-19 score. The Brits used a three-pointer on their final possession of the half to carry a 43-19 lead into the break.

 

The two sides played a tight third quarter with Albion narrowly out-scoring Saint Mary's 19-17 over the ten-minute period. Julia Schutz got the Belles on the scoreboard to start the quarter with a driving layup. Athena Samson hit a jumper in the paint, Nikki Murphy used an offensive rebound to score on a pull up floating jumper on the next Belles possession, and Maddie Rzepka scored a turnaround jumper in the paint as Saint Mary's got a balanced scoring rhythm going. Schutz and Rzepka both converted chances at the free throw line, and Anne Goralczyk added to her scoring total with a mid-range jumper. Nicole Connolly hit a baseline pull-up jumper 30 seconds later, but Albion almost could not miss on their offensive chances as the Belles were unable to string together a scoring run.

 

Despite several good looks in the fourth period, the shots just would not fall for the Belles as Albion out-scored Saint Mary's 18-6 over the final ten minutes of play. Maddie Rzepka, Athena Samson, and Mary Kate Gareau each hit a bucket for the home side in the fourth quarter as the Belles fell 80-42.

 

Albion shot 45.1 percent (32-of-71) from the floor and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from three-point range in the game. Saint Mary's was limited to 29.1 percent (16-of-55) from the floor and seven percent (1-of-14) from three-point distance in the contest.

 

Maddie Rzepka led the Belles with 12 points and added five rebounds and a steal. Athena Samson had six points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Anne Goralczyk posted six points and five rebounds. Julia Schutz chipped in five points and five rebounds. Mary Kate Gareau tallied four points and two rebounds. Christina Shadid collected three points, and Nikki Murphy, Elle Deardorff, and Nicole Connolly each had two points. 

 

The Belles (7-17, 4-11 MIAA) conclude their season on Wednesday, February 15 when they host Trine at 7:00 p.m.