NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team scored at least 17 points each quarter and never trailed in an 80-57 victory over Dominican at home on Saturday afternoon.

 

Maddie Rzepka quickly put the Belles on the scoreboard with a bucket off of the opening tip. Athena Samson and Rzepka added back-to-back buckets two minutes later, and a Julia Schutz three-pointer followed by a Nikki Murphy pull-up jumper gave the Belles an 11-2 advantage four minutes into the contest. Elle Deardorff, Jasmyne Townsend, and Lauren Gumma added points for the Belles in the opening period as a balanced scoring attack put Saint Mary's up 20-7. The Stars used back-to-back buckets to make it 20-12, but a Jasmyne Townsend free throw late put the Belles up 21-12 through one quarter.

 

An early bucket by Dominican cut the Belles' lead to seven, and a three-pointer a short while later again shaved the Saint Mary's lead to fewer than ten points at 26-17. Julia Schutz powered her way to a layup despite being fouled to regain a double-digit lead, and the sophomore added another layup and drained the and-one opportunity a minute later for a 31-17 advantage. An Elle Deardorff layup on a fastbreak made it a 16-point lead. Dominican got a bucket back, but a second-chance layup by Jasmyne Townsend and a three-pointer by Lauren Gumma pushed the Belles' advantage to 19 points. The two sides traded baskets over the final two minutes of the quarter as Saint Mary's held a 41-25 lead at the halftime break.

 

The teams nearly matched each other point for point in the third quarter. Lauren Gumma sunk another three-pointer, and Nyah Porter got in the scoring column with a layup for a 58-34 lead late in the period, but a quick spurt by Dominican over the final minute made it 58-41 heading into the fourth quarter. The Stars continued their run to open the final stanza, using back-to-back baskets to make it a 13-point game at 58-45. Athena Samson sunk consecutive buckets in the paint for the Belles to push the lead to 17. A second-chance shot and a three-pointer by Dominican, however, shaved the lead to 12 at 62-50 a minute later. Julia Schutz scored on an offensive board and put-back before hitting a layup in transition for a 66-50 lead. Samson drained a pair of free throws a short while later, and the Belles maintained at least a 15-point lead for the remainder of the contest in an 80-57 final. 

 

Saint Mary's had a 60-40 advantage in rebounds in the contest, and the Belles capitalized on offensive boards with 20 second-chance points to Dominican's 13. Saint Mary's held scoring advantages in points in the paint (32-30) and points from non-starters (26-19). The Belles shot 40.8 percent from the floor while limiting the Stars to a 29.7 percent effort in the contest.

 

Julia Schutz led all players with 19 points after connecting on 7-of-11 shots from the floor. The sophomore collected her second double-double of the season with ten rebounds and added two assists and two blocked shots. Maddie Rzepka poured in 16 points with six rebounds and an assist. Athena Samson added a career-high 12 points on a 50.0 percent shooting effort from the floor while also pulling down nine rebounds. Mary Kate Gareau had a career-best 11 rebounds - including five offensive boards - while adding six points, a career-high three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. Lauren Gumma drained three triples for nine points while Jasmyne Townsend chipped in six points and seven rebounds. Nicole Connolly collected three steals, and Nikki Murphy led all players with four assists.

 

The Belles (2-0) hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Wheaton for an 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. CST) contest against the Thunder on Tuesday, November 15.