NOTRE DAME, IND.-- A cold-shooting afternoon doomed Trine to a 60-42 loss at MIAA-foe St. Mary's Saturday afternoon at the Angela Athletic Facility.
Tough defense by the Belles limited Trine to 27 percent shooting (16-of-59). Shanlynn Bias notched a double-double to lead St. Mary's, with 14 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Ariana Paul added 14 points and eight boards. Trine was led by Kelsey Henselmeier (Martinsville, Ind.) and Amy Newell (Three Rivers, Mich.) with eight-points apiece. St. Mary's improves to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA with the win. Trine falls to 1-6 overall and 0-2 MIAA play.
Alivia Recker and Taylor Cole each added seven points for the Thunder. Trine scored 27 points off 24 St. Mary's turnovers, outscoring the Belles by 14 points off turnovers overall.
Krista Knapke scored 13 points and notched nine rebounds for the Belles. St. Mary's shot 43 percent from the field (23-of-53) and outscored Trine 32-12 in the paint. The Belles never trailed in the contest.
St. Mary's scored the first eight points of the contest and never looked back. Bias and Paul each scored four points during the opening stretch. Six of the eight points came in the paint, with the other two coming on free throws.
The Belles led by double-figures for most of the first half. An 12-4 surge by Trine pulled the Thunder within two possessions. Recker scored five points, while Cole added a three and Newell added a pair of free throws during that stretch. A Henselmeier bucket brought the Thunder within 23-19 with 4:53 to play in the first half.
The Thunder would pull within four again on a Henselmeier jumper, but an 8-0 St. Mary's run restored the lead to double-digits. The Belles took a 35-25 lead into the half.
Trine got as close as 41-33 on a pair of free throws by Cole with 15:01 to play. The Belles would answer with 12 straight to put the game out of reach. Eleni Shea scored five of her seven points in the run, while Bias added four points. Trine would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
The Thunder return to action Monday, Dec. 16 when they travel to Manchester for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference contest.