DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Saint Mary's basketball team held their own in their first game back from a holiday break in an 85-67 setback against No. 25 Loras on Friday.

 

The opening period was a back-and-forth battle from the tip-off. Athena Samson hit a jump shot, and Elle Deardorff drained her first three-pointer to give the Belles a 5-3 advantage three minutes into the contest. After the Duhawks knotted the game at 5-5, Annie Restovich sunk a free throw for a 6-5 advantage. Loras used a three-pointer for an 8-6 lead, but Deardorff added another triple to have the lead trade hands yet again at 9-8 for Saint Mary's. It was then Julia Schutz's turn to hit the response bucket for an 11-10 lead with just under five minutes to go as the teams traded buckets.The Duhawks put up four points for a 14-11 edge only to see Deardorff connect on another three-pointer to tie it up 14-14. Loras countered with six points in-a-row to gain a 20-14 advantage with two minutes remaining. Nicole Connolly connected on a shot from behind the arc to halve the lead moments later. Three free throws pushed the Loras lead back to six, but Connolly made a mid-range jumper to make it a 23-19 game heading into the second period. 

 

Julia Schutz opened the second stanza with a free throw, and Mary Kate Gareau hit a jump shot to make it a one-point game at 23-22 with more than eight minutes on the clock. Neither side could get a shot to fall over the next two-plus minutes of play until Nicole Connolly hit a layup off of a feed from Deardorff to put the Belles ahead 24-23. The lead traded hands yet again with a jumper by the Duhawks. Kate Restovich countered with a good three-pointer for a 27-25 Saint Mary's lead moments later. Loras, however, came right back with a three-pointer of their own for a 28-27 lead after the next possession. Connolly drew a foul while shooting and hit a free throw to knot things up yet again at 28-28 midway through the quarter. Loras used a second-chance bucket to go up 30-28. Gareau then drew a shooting foul and hit a free throw of her own to put the score at 30-29 with 3:20 to play. Back-to-back three-pointer by Loras gave the Duhakws a 36-29 lead, but Mary Kate Gareau added a second-chance layup to make it a five-point difference with under two minutes to go. The Duhawks, however, closed out the quarter with seven unanswered points for a 43-31 lead at halftime.

 

After Loras hit the opening shot of the third quarter, the Belles made a big push to get right back in the mix. Mary Kate Gareau, Nicole Connolly, Elle Deardorff, and Annie Restovich each hit a bucket to make it a six-point difference at 45-39 with six minutes to play in the quarter. The Duhawks used a three-pointer to break up the scoring run, but Julia Schutz hit the next bucket with a driving layup to make it a 48-41. The teams continued to exchange points back and forth with Kate Restovich and Athena Samson each getting into the scoring column as the Belles stayed within striking distance at 53-44. Loras used a late push in the third via a 6-0 run over the final minute-plus to push their lead to 59-44 going into the final period.

 

Loras connected on a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, but Elle Deardorff responded with a three-pointer of her own. Julia Schutz used a put-back bucket to again make it a 15-point difference at 64-49 with just under eight minutes to play. The Duhawks, however, put the next eight points on the scoreboard to extend their advantage to 72-49. Annie Restovich hit a three-pointer after a Saint Mary's timeout, and she and Julia Schutz put up points over the next three minutes. The Belles were unable to put together the much-needed run down the stretch despite points from Lauren Gumma, Avery Schiesser, and Caroline Roecker in the 85-67 final.

 

The two sides put up nearly the same shooting percentage in the contest. The Belles hit 42.4 percent (25-of-59) of their shots from the floor while the Duhawks posted a 42.3 percent (33-of-78) shooting percentage in the contest. The Belles hit nine free throws to the Duhawks' eight in the contest while Loras made 11 three-pointers to the eight good triples by the Belles. 

 

Elle Deardorff led the Belles with 14 points after connecting on 4-of-6 three-pointers. The senior added three assists and a steal in the contest. Julia Schutz posted 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Nicole Connolly chipped in 10 points, and Annie Restovich tallied nine points. Mary Kate Gareau had seven points for Saint Mary's. Athena Samson paced the Belles with nine rebounds while registering a pair of assists. Kate Restovich collected two assists with a steal.

 

The Belles (3-8) face off against Simpson on day two of the Loras Holiday Classic on Saturday. The game begins at 12:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. EST.