FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Trine University women’s basketball team headed down I-69 for the two-day SportONE Shootout hosted by Indiana Tech. The Thunder fell in the opener to Spring Arbor 61-55 before bouncing back to dominate Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 99-79. Trine’s record now stands at 8-5 on the season.
Trine’s opening game saw them take on an old conference foe from their NAIA days as the Thunder faced Spring Arbor for the first time in almost nine years to the day (Dec. 30, 2003). From the start, the Cougars led for most of the first half. Down 18-10 with 8:52 to play, the Thunder would start a comeback and take their first lead of the game at 21-20 and 4 minutes remaining in the half.
Leading 30-25 at the half, the Thunder would lead most of the second half. Trine led by as many as eight at 45-37 with 10:14 to play in the game. Spring Arbor cut into the lead as the two sides battled in the final minutes. With the Thunder up one, 56-55 with 1:08 to play, the Cougars were able to convert a pair of free throws with just 40 seconds to play to re-take the lead. Trine would miss a jumper on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul. Spring Arbor converted the next four free throws as the Thunder were unable to make a shot in the final seconds.
The Thunder bounced back on the second day as they never trailed against the Pomeroys in their first-ever meeting. Trine jumped out to an 8-0 lead as they didn’t allow a point until the 15:12 mark. After their lead was cut to just four at 32-28, the Thunder would go on a 17-4 run to take a 17 point lead.
After leading 53-40 at the half, the Thunder pushed their lead to 20 points just four minutes in to the second half. Trine kept their lead to at least 20 throughout most of the second half, until Saint Mary of-the-Woods cut it to 14 points in the final 5 minutes. The Thunder defense ended the game strong, not allowing a Pomeroys point in the final 3:32 of the game.
Against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, freshman Kelcey Swisher (Williamsport, Ind./Seeger Memorial) recorded a career-high 20 points. Seniors Megan Loveberry (Quincy, Mich./Quincy) and Sydney Spragg (Reading, Mich./Reading) collected their first double-doubles of the season. Loveberry finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Spragg had 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. It’s the third career double-double for Spragg and the second for Loveberry. It also marks the first time two Trine players have earned a double-double in the same game since Danielle Senf and Sarah Howe also accomplished it on November 22, 2008 against Ohio Northern.
For the weekend, Spragg, Loveberry and Swisher all finished with 30 points. Spragg and Loveberry also finished with identical rebounding numbers, 18. Spragg also led the Thunder for the tournament in steals, 8, assists, 7, and blocks, 4.
The 99 points scored by Trine against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is the most by a Thunder squad since they defeated Olivet in Angola, 100-89 on February 16, 2005.
The ladies will return to action in a week when they host third ranked Calvin on January 5 at 3:00 p.m.