NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team could not get their shots to fall in a 68-42 setback against Albion on Wednesday night.

 

The game was tight through much of the first quarter of play. After the Brits scored on their first chance, the Belles responded with a bucket by Athena Samson at the other end. Albion countered with a three-pointer, but Samson had the answer again with an offensive rebound and put-back bucket. The visitors used a pair of free throws and back-to-back buckets to gain an 11-4 advantage four minutes into play. Mary Kate Gareau got the Belles back in the scoring column with two free throws, and Julia Schutz hit a driving layup to make it a three-point game at 11-8. Two more Albion free throws made it 13-8, but Elle Deardorff knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 13-11 game with more than three minutes still on the clock. Albion, however, closed out the quarter with six unanswered points for a 19-11 lead after ten minutes of play.

 

Albion hit the opening bucket of the second quarter, but Kate Restovich hit a tough turnaround jumper in the paint for the Belles to put the difference back at eight. The sides traded buckets for a two-minute span with Restovich and Elle Deardorff both sinking three-pointers to make it 28-19. A scoreless stretch by both sides was ended by a layup by Julia Schutz as the Belles pulled within seven. The Brits got a pair of buckets in the paint before Deardorff hit another three-pointer to bring the deficit down to single digits yet again at 32-24 with two minutes to go. Albion connected on two free throws with six seconds on the clock, but Deardorff added a free throw of her own with eight-tenths of a second on the scoreboard to push the score to 34-25 at halftime.

 

Kate Restovich connected on both ends of a trip to the charity stripe to open the third period to make it a seven-point game early. Albion, however, scored on three of their next four possessions while the Belles came up empty-handed on four consecutive possessions as the Brits went ahead 40-27. The Restovich duo pushed the tempo on Saint Mary's next chance as Annie scored on a layup on a leading pass from Kate. While neither side had much success in getting buckets over the next three-and-a-half minutes, Albion was able to get a pair of shots to fall for a 44-29 lead. Julia Schutz converted a free throw with more than two minutes to play, and Kate Restovich hit a shot in the lane in the final minute as the Belles trailed 46-32 going into the fourth period.

 

Julia Schutz made a layup while being fouled and hit the and-one free throw in the opening minute to pull Saint Mary's within 46-35. The Brits, however, used a game-changing 13-0 run over the next four minutes of play to build a 59-35 advantage. Kate Restovich used the old fashioned three-point play to break up the scoreless stretch for the Belles. Lauren Gumma added a free throw a short while later, and Alyssa Matuza drained a three-pointer in the final minute as the Belles were unable to mount a late comeback in the 68-42 final.

 

The Belles were held to their lowest shooting percentage of the season (23.3 percent) as Saint Mary's was able to connect on 14-of-60 shots from the floor and added 9-of-16 free throws. Albion hit 26-of-71 shots (36.6 percent) on the night and were 13-of-13 from the free throw line. The Brits held a 60-33 advantage in rebounds while only holding a plus-eight (16-8) edge in second chance points.

 

Kate Restovich led the Belles with 12 points and three steals to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Elle Deardorff chipped in 10 points with a steal, and Julia Schutz posted eight points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots. Athena Samson had four points, Alyssa Matuza tallied three points, and Annie Restovich and Mary Kate Gareau each added two points while Lauren Gumma put up a point.

 

The Belles (5-12, 2-6 MIAA) begin their second round of MIAA competition on Saturday when they travel to Calvin for a 1:00 p.m. contest.