NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The shots just would not fall for the Belles in the fourth quarter as Saint Mary's shouldered a 61-53 loss against Berry on day two of the Music City Classic at Welch College in Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon.

 

Holding a 5-4 lead early, the Belles used a 9-2 scoring run over the span of 4:30 in the first quarter to gain a 17-6 lead over the Vikings. Julia Schutz started that spurt with a three-pointer and added a free throw a short while later. Nikki Murphy cleaned up an offensive rebound with a put-back layup, Jasmyne Townsend added a quick layup as the Belles pushed defense into offense, and Anne Goralczyk and Maddie Rzepka each hit a pair of free throws. The Vikings put the next seven points on the scoreboard down the stretch in the first quarter to make it a 17-13 game through ten minutes of play.

 

The Belles got an answer from Schutz in the form of a three-pointer to open the second quarter. Athena Samson had a response bucket on the next possession for a 22-15 lead. Berry kept close and made it a three-point game twice before a Nikki Murphy three-pointer and a layup and triple by Schutz pushed the Belles ahead 32-21 with four minutes remaining in the second period. Another three-pointer by Schutz with two minutes left on the clock gave Saint Mary's a 35-21 advantage, but a three-pointer late by the Vikings saw the Belles carry a 35-24 lead into the halftime break.

 

Elle Deardorff dialed one in from long distance, and Athena Samson hit a tough layup on back-to-back possessions to keep Saint Mary's ahead by double digits early in the third. Schutz then sunk her fifth three-pointer of the contest to put the Belles ahead by a game-best 15 points at 43-28 with under six minutes to play in the quarter. An 8-0 run by the Vikings saw the score move to 43-37 in favor of the Belles before a pull-up jumper by Jasmyne Townsend put Saint Mary's up 45-37. Julia Schutz converted a three-point play on the next possession for a 48-40 lead with 1:25 on the clock. The Vikings, however, built late momentum in the quarter with a layup and a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Belles took the 48-45 lead into the final stanza.

 

An extended possession for the Belles led to a good jumper for Nikki Murphy to open the fourth period. Neither side could get much offense going over the next three-plus minutes as the Vikings made it a one-possession game at 50-48 with a three-pointer. A pair of three-pointers by Berry over the ensuing 4:30 of action gave the Vikings a 54-50 lead as the Belles remained close late in the game. Elle Deardorff sparked Saint Mary's with a three-pointer in front of the Belles bench to make it a 54-53 game with 2:09 to play. The Vikings got a layup on their next possession for a 56-53 lead, and the Belles were unable to get a bounce to go their way over the final minute of action as Berry claimed the 61-53 decision.

 

Both teams connected on eight three-pointers and were limited to shooting percentages below 36 percent in the contest. The Belles held the rebounding margin (38-36) while the Vikings were 13-of-14 from the free throw line to the 7-of-9 rate by Saint Mary's. 

 

A day after matching her career-high, Julia Schutz posted a new career-best scoring output with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and a 5-of-6 effort from three-point range. The sophomore pulled down 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the year. Athena Samson had seven points and nine rebounds, and Nikki Murphy collected seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Elle Deardorff chipped in six points. Maddie Rzepka and Jasmyne Townsend each had four points, and Anne Goralczyk tallied two points. 

 

The Belles (4-9) are off from competition for the holiday week and return to action on Wednesday, January 4 when they host Kalamazoo at 7:00 p.m.