NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team had their season come to an end on Wednesday evening in an 85-49 setback against No. 15/21 (d3hoops.com/WBCA) Trine.

 

Trine scored on their first possession of the game. The Belles got a defensive stop the next time down the court, and Julia Schutz put Saint Mary's on the scoreboard with a shot in the lane to knot the game at 2-2. The Thunder responded with a jumper outside the paint, but Schutz came right back with the answer in the form of a three-pointer for a 5-4 Saint Mary's lead three minutes into the contest. Neither side could get a shot to fall over the next two minutes and 26 seconds until a Maddie Rzepka free throw put the Belles up 6-4 with 4:33 remaining in the quarter. The shots continued to be just off the mark for Saint Mary's over the remainder of the period while the Thunder used a 13-0 run to hold a 17-6 lead through ten minutes of play.

 

Nicole Connolly opened the second quarter with a good three-pointer off of a dish from Nikki Murphy. Murphy added two free throws moments later to make it a 21-11 game. Lauren Gumma crossed up a defender and used the open space to hit Maddie Rzepka on the left side of the court as Rzepka dialed one in from long distance to cut the deficit to nine at 23-14. An offensive rebound and put-back bucket by Athena Samson a minute later again made it a nine-point game at 25-16. Trine extended their lead to 16 on a fastbreak bucket before Rzepka converted both ends of a trip to the charity stripe to put the score at 32-18 with more than three minutes remaining before halftime. The Thunder countered with six quick points to gain a 38-18 edge. Connolly hit her second triple of the quarter, and Rzepka used a step-through move in the paint to make it a 17-point difference twice. The Hunder, however, hit a pair of late buckets to hold a 45-23 lead at the break.

 

Athena Samson put the Belles on the scoreboard first in the third quarter with a second-chance layup 1:39 into the period. Christina Shadid drained a three-pointer in front of the Saint Mary's bench to give the home side a big burst of energy. Maddie Rzepka then used back-to-back step-through shots in the lane as the senior would not be denied in the paint in her final contest. Samson added another layup of her own to cut the deficit to 19 at 53-34. After the Thunder put the next seven points on the scoreboard, Nicole Connolly connected on her third three-pointer of the contest as the Belles continued to battle. Trine used a three-pointer on their next possession, and neither team got a shot to fall over the final 1:40 of the quarter as the Belles were narrowly out-scored in the quarter by an 18-14 margin.

 

Nikki Murphy hit a strong layup off of a pass from Rzepka after the Belles forced the Thunder into a shot clock violation. Julia Schutz hit a put-back jumper, and Athena Samson used a three-point play to make it a 73-44 game midway through the quarter. Saint Mary's continued to fight for every point, and Maddie Rzepka hit a three-pointer at the top of the key for the Belles' seventh triple of the game to establish a new single-season team record for threes. Nyah Porter found Elle Deardorff for a late layup as Saint Mary's played hard to the final whistle in the 85-49 final.

 

The Belles had a 31-28 advantage over the Thunder in rebounding on the night. Both sides were below their season averages for free throws attempted and made in the game. Trine was 11-of-13 from the line while Saint Mary's made 6-of-7 free throws in the contest.

 

Saint Mary's established a new single-season team record for most three-pointers made. The Belles hit seven triples on the night to reach 143 made three-pointers, eclipsing the program record of 142 established just last season.

 

Maddie Rzepka led the Belles with 15 points on the night. Athena Samson just missed out on a double-double with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Nicole Connolly added nine points of her own with a trio of three-pointers. Julia Schutz posted seven points and five rebounds. Nikki Murphy tallied four points, three rebounds, and two assists. Christina Shadid had three points, and Elle Deardorff had two points for the Belles.

 

Saint Mary's ends the season 7-18 overall with a 4-12 MIAA record.