ALMA, Mich. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team outscored host Alma 10-6 over the final 30 minutes of play as the Belles claimed a 16-13 win against the Scots in the MIAA Tournament Semifinal round on Wednesday night.

 

Saint Mary's struck quickly as Molly Mullett won the opening draw before Valentina Rubio put away the first shot of the game for a 1-0 lead just 1:01 into play. Both sides battled for position and possession over the next ten minutes of action. Emma Zmudzinski came up with a save on a free position shot with just over nine minutes on the clock while Lindsey Herdsman, Molly Mullett, Valentina Rubio, and Kate King all collected caused turnovers. After another save by Zmuzinski, Alyssa Grant added a caused turnover of her own. The defensive pressure continued to limit Alma's offensive efforts, and a caused turnover by Rubio followed by a ground ball by Lindsey Herdsman led to a goal by Molly Mullett for a 2-0 advantage with 3:12 remaining in the opening period. Alma got on the scoreboard a minute later, and the Scots used a free position goal in the final minute of the quarter to knot the game at 2-2.

 

Alma used a 5-0 scoring run over the opening ten minutes of the second quarter as the Scots built a 7-2 lead. Undeterred, the Belles used a huge surge over the final three minutes of the period to pull within a goal. Saint Mary's turned defense into offense as an Alma turnover led to a goal by Molly Mullett with 2:52 on the clock. Erin Dotson won the ensuing draw control, and Mullett sent home a free position goal just 19 seconds later to make it a three-goal difference. The Belles capitalized on an Alma miscue as the Scots' goalkeeper was caught well outside the goal circle after a turnover, and Reese Bauer scored on a restart for Saint Mary's with 48 seconds remaining in the half. Molly Mullett then scored a free position goal with 25 seconds left to hit 50 goals on the season while pulling the Belles within 7-6 at the half.

 

Alyssa Grant scored on a free position chance to open the third quarter to tie the game, but Alma regained a lead two minutes later for an 8-7 advantage. Molly Mullett came away with the next draw control, and Grant put away her second free position goal of the period to again tie the game. Emma Zmudzinski tallied a save a minute and a half later, and the Belles used that stop at one end to take the lead at the other end as Valentina Rubio scored on a free position chance to go up 9-8. The Scots countered with a goal a minute later, but Zmudzinski stymied the Alma side with three consecutive saves over the next five minutes of action. Saint Mary's dialed up their re-defend as they have throughout the season, and a caused turnover and ground ball by Alyssa Grant late in the period led to a goal by Erin Dotson with a minute on the clock to give the Belles a 10-9 lead heading into the final quarter.

 

Another re-defend early in the fourth quarter saw Erin Dotson come away with a ground ball along the right side of the Belles' offensive end. Dotson fed a pass to Alyssa Grant, and Grant spun past a defender and put away her third goal of the contest. Molly Mullett won the next draw control, and the senior scored for a 12-9 lead 12:44 into the period. Alma used back-to-back goals within the span of a minute to edge within 12-11 with 10:20 still to go. After another defensive stop, the Belles pushed the ball up the field quickly in transition. Grant had her shot saved, but Mullett cleaned up the loose ball in front of the goal circle and buried the chance for a 13-11 lead. A quick draw control win by Mullett led to a pair of passes up the field, and Grant pushed the lead to 14-11 as Alma called a timeout with 7:04 on the clock. Zmuzinski collected a save with six and a half minutes remaining, and the sophomore added another save with under four minutes to play. That second save set up another transition chance for the Saint Mary's offense. Julia Gorski had the ball just inside the restraining line and fed a pass to Alyssa Grant, and Grant cut right between two defenders through the critical scoring area before putting away a goal with 3:13 to go while giving the Belles a 15-11 lead. Mullett won yet another draw control, and two passes later, Grant dodged another defender and put Saint Mary's ahead 16-11 with three minutes to play as Alma called their final timeout. The Scots made one final push at a comeback by scoring back-to-back goals with under two minutes to go. Another save by Zmudzinski with under a minute to go all but sealed the deal for the Belles in the 16-13 win for the program's sixth-consecutive MIAA Tournament victory.

 

Alyssa Grant posted season-highs of six goals - including the game-winning goal - and seven points after tallying an assist. The freshman also chipped in three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Molly Mullett shared game-high honors with Grant after putting away six goals, and the senior midfielder tallied a game-high 13 draw controls while causing three turnovers and picking up a team-high eight ground balls. Valentina Rubio registered two goals on two shots and had four ground balls, three caused turnovers, and two draw controls. Erin Dotson added a goal, seven draw controls, a ground ball, and a caused turnover. Reese Bauer put away a goal on the night. Lindsey Herdsman tallied six ground balls with two caused turnovers. Emma Zmudzinski posted 11 saves in the win in goal.

 

The Belles (12-6) are now set to face off against top-seeded Hope in the MIAA Tournament Championship on Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.