GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team jumped out to a strong start, but No. 20/RV (d3hoops.com/WBCA) Calvin came away with an 83-56 decision in MIAA play on Thursday evening.

 

The Belles found a solid offensive rhythm to open play against the host Knights. Elle Deardorff put the Belles on the scoreboard with a layup before draining a three-pointer two minutes later for a 5-0 Saint Mary's advantage. An offensive rebound and put-back by Athena Samson on the next possession pushed the lead to 7-0, and a pair of free throws by Julia Schutz pushed the Belles ahead 9-0 with 5:18 on the clock. The next Saint Mary's possession saw Maddie Rzepka thread the needle to a back door-cutting Nikki Murphy for an open layup and an 11-0 lead more than five minutes into the opening stanza. The Knights broke into the scoring column on their next possession and used three quick buckets to make it an 11-7 game with 3:35 still to play in the first quarter. Neither side could get a shot to fall over the next two-plus minutes of action, but Calvin ultimately edged within two with a pair of free throws. Elle Deardorff put the Belles back on track with her second three-pointer of the contest for a 14-9 lead. The Knights, however, closed out the quarter with a pair of buckets as Saint Mary's held a 14-13 lead at the first break.

 

Maddie Rzepka opened the second period with a good three-pointer of her own, and Athena Samson had a response bucket off of another offensive board moments later as the Belles held the 19-15 lead. Five consecutive points by Calvin gave the Knights their first lead of the game at 20-19, but Julia Schutz had the answer at the other end with a three-pointer for a 22-20 Belles advantage. A 9-1 surge by the Knights saw the lead trade hands again with Calvin going ahead 29-23 with four minutes still to play in the period. Nikki Murphy then cut the deficit to three with a three-pointer. The host Knights, however, used seven unanswered points over the final three minutes of the quarter to take a 36-26 lead at halftime.

 

That scoring run carried into the third quarter for the home side as Calvin used a 17-0 run to open the second half as the Knights built a 53-26 advantage. Anne Goralczyk got the Belles back into the scoring column with a driving layup. Maddie Rzepka and Nicole Connolly added back-to-back buckets a short while later at 57-32, but another spurt by the Knights gave Calvin a 66-32 lead through 30 minutes of play.

 

Saint Mary's continued to battle against the Knights while working to chip away at the deficit in the fourth period. Nikki Murphy, Elle Deardorff, Julia Schutz, and Maddie Rzepka each added to their scoring totals through the opening five-plus minutes of the quarter. Nicole Connolly and Jasmyne Townsend added back-to-back baskets for the Belles, and Lauren Gumma drained a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes as Saint Mary's out-scored Calvin 26-17 in the fourth quarter. The Knights' advantage, however, was too large to overtake in the 83-58 final.

 

Saint Mary's had a 14-12 edge in second-chance points in the contest while Calvin had a 40-20 advantage in points in the paint. The Belles hit 50.0 percent (9-of-18) attempts from three-point range to Calvin's 27.3 percent (6-of-22) effort from distance.

 

Elle Deardorff led the Belles with 14 points and three steals with three assists. Nikki Murphy tallied eight points and a team-best four assists, and Maddie Rzepka chipped in eight points, four rebounds, two steals, and two assists. Julia Schutz notched seven points, and Lauren Gumma added six points. Athena Samson had a team-best eight rebounds, and Christina Shadid recorded three assists.

 

The Belles (4-6, 1-2 MIAA) have a break from competition for finals week and return to action on Saturday, December 17 when they travel to Alma for a 3:00 p.m. contest.