ALMA, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team was set back by a late scoreless stretch in the fourth quarter as the Belles came up short in a 71-58 conference game at Alma on Saturday.

 

Kate Restovich got the Belles on the scoreboard first with a tough jumper in the paint. After three consecutive defensive stops, Elle Deardorff drained a three-pointer from the corner to make it a 5-0 lead. The Scots countered with a three-pointer of their own. Athena Samson used a power move to the basket and hit the shot in the paint for a 7-3 lead, and an offensive rebound and put-back jumper in the paint by Deardorff gave the Belles a 9-3 edge four minutes into play. Alma used a layup and a three-pointer to make it a one-point game at 9-8 before a tough turnaround shot by Julia Schutz put the Belles up 11-8. The Scots got back-to-back buckets for a 13-11 lead with a little more than two minutes to play. Schutz put the Belles within one with a free throw before an up-and-under jumper by the junior regained the lead for Saint Mary's at 14-13. The back-and-forth play continued with Alma getting a layup for a 15-14 edge with under a minute to go in the period. Both sides saw their final possession of the quarter come up empty as the Scots held the one-point advantage after ten minutes of play.

 

Alma scored on their opening possession, but Elle Deardorff buried a three on the Belles' first chance to knot the game at 17-17. The Scots went up 20-17 with a three-pointer of their own, but Athena Samson hit the open layup off of a pass from Deardorff quickly the other way. The Belles got a stop at one end, and Deardorff dialed in another triple for a 22-20 Saint Mary's advantage. The Scots drew even a short while later, but a bucket in the paint by Samson put the Belles back ahead at 24-22. Alma responded with a three-pointer as the two sides continued to trade points. After Alma went up 27-24, Deardorff sunk a three at the top of the key to tie things up yet again at 27-27. The Scots used an extended possession on their next chance and hit a three-pointer to make it 30-27 with four minutes still to go in the quarter. A pair of free throws by Alma gave the Scots a five-point edge before an Annie Restovich triple cut the deficit to two. The Belles capitalized on an Alma turnover as Deardorff drew a foul and hit both free throws to tie the game at 32-32 with two minutes to go. The Scots broke the deadlock with a jumper, and a three-pointer but Alma ahead 37-32 with a minute to play. Deardorff continued to find success on the offensive end with a driving layup plus the and-one free throw on the next possession to make it 37-35. Saint Mary's got a defensive stop but the Belles were unable to hit a late jump shot as Alma held the two-point advantage at the half.

 

Alma opened the scoring two-plus minutes into the third with a layup, but Saint Mary's quickly countered with a layup by Athena Samson on the next possession. Samson got the friendly roll off of the rim, and a long two-pointer by Nicole Connolly put the Belles up 41-40. A stop on the defensive end followed by an offensive rebound and put-back bucket by Connolly made it a 43-40 Saint Mary's advantage. The Belles got another stop and took full advantage with a driving layup by Kate Restovich for a 45-40 lead. The defense stayed locked in as the Belles kept the Scots off the scoreboard over their next four possessions. Connolly then threaded the needle to a cutting Samson for the layup to put the Belles ahead 47-40. The Scots broke up the scoring run with a layup with two minutes to go, but Elle Deardorff hit a tough left-handed layup moments later for a 49-42 advantage. Alma used an extended possession to hit a three-pointer, and another three on the Scots' next possession made it a one-point game at 49-48. The Belles could not get a couple of good looks to fall, and another three-pointer by Alma late gave the Scots a narrow 51-49 edge going into the fourth quarter.

 

A driving Elle Deardorff found an open Athena Samson on the block for a layup to put the Belles within a point at 52-51 a minute into the fourth quarter. The Scots put the next nine points on the scoreboard to make it 61-51 with more than five minutes still to play. Elle Deardorff got the Belles back on track with a layup to make it a single-digit difference. The Scots used a layup of their own 40 seconds later to put their lead back to ten at 63-53 with 4:22 to go. Saint Mary's saw their next five possessions come up empty while Alma converted three possessions into points for a 69-53 lead. Kate Restovich got the Belles on the scoreboard with a three-pointer with a minute to go before Elle Deardorff connected on a late jumper, but the chance at a comeback ran out of time in the 71-58 final.

 

Both teams connected on shots in the paint and beyond the arc in a game which featured seven lead changes and four ties. The Belles hit 42.9 percent of their three-pointers (6-of-14) while Alma connected on ten three-pointers (34.5 percent) in the contest. The Scots held a narrow 32-28 margin on points in the paint. Neither side had many chances from the charity stripe as the teams combined to shoot 19 total free throws in the game. 

 

Elle Deardorff led all players with 23 points as the senior hit 50.0 percent of her shots from the floor (8-of-16) and behind the arc (4-of-8) while dishing out four assists. Athena Samson registered her seventh double-double of the year with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and a blocked shot. Kate Restovich had nine points and six rebounds, and Julia Schutz added five points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. Nicole Connolly tallied four points, and Annie Restovich notched three points for the Belles with a pair of steals.

 

The Belles (4-10, 1-4 MIAA) return home for a three-game stretch as Saint Mary's is set to host Olivet, Adrian, and Albion. That three-game home stand begins on Wednesday when the Belles take on Olivet starting at 6:00 p.m.