BLUFFTON, OHIO-- Trine's women's basketball team faced a 10-point deficit late in the first half, but fought back to advance to the Bluffton Holiday Tournament championship game with a 76-63 victory over Brescia.
After falling behind 32-22 with 4:03 to play in the first half, the Thunder ripped off a 23-5 run over the next 8:16 of game time to take the lead for good. Amy Newell (Three Rivers, Mich.) scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. She added five rebounds. Newell's effort was the highest scoring output by a Thunder player this season. Lauren Rodgers led Brescia with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The Thunder held an 18-2 edge in fast-break scoring. Trine improves to 3-7 on the season and will face the winner of the OSU-Lima/Bluffton matchup in tomorrow's championship game at 6:00 p.m. Brescia falls to 1-11 on the season.
Alivia Recker (Arlington, Ohio) filled the stat sheet with 19 points (7-of-10 shooting) to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Kelsey Henslemeier (Martinsville, Ind.) added 15 points and a career-high eight assists. Trine held scoring advantages in points in the paint (36-20), points off turnovers (22-8), second-chance points (12-6) and bench points (16-9). Katelyn Sager (Kell, Ill.) paced the bench effort with nine points.
Julianna Whitfill scored 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting for Brescia. Evelyn Turner added 14 points, but was held to a 4-of-15 effort from the field. The Bearcats shot 37 percent from the field (21-of-57) in the contest.
Brescia used a 19-2 run over a seven-minute span to open their 10-point lead late in the first half. Rodgers led the way during that stretch, scoring eight of her points during that run.
Trine was able to heat up from the field and tighten up on defense to get back in the contest, closing the first half on an 8-0 run over the final 4:03. Newell converted two old-fashioned three-point plays, while Henselmeier added a jumper to account for the points during the run. The Thunder defense forced four misses and a turnover during that stretch. Brescia went to the half clinging to a 32-30 lead.
The momentum from the strong finish to the first half carried over into the opening minutes of the second half, as Trine opened with a 15-5 surge to take the lead for good. A jumper by Recker tied the score at 32-apiece, but Rodgers hit a three to restore the Brescia lead. A layup by Henselmeier cut the Thunder deficit to one before a Recker three gave Trine the lead for good.
A pair of free throws by Henslemeier and six straight points for Newell capped off the run and gave Trine a 45-37 lead with 15:47 remaining in the contest.
Brescia would threaten on several occasions, cutting the Trine lead to five on several occasions- but the Thunder always had an answer. The Thunder pushed the lead to double-digits for the first time when a three-point play by Sager made it 62-51 with 6:36 on the clock.
The Buffaloes pulled within 69-63 with 2:03 to play, but Trine would hold Brescia scoreless the rest of the way to earn the 76-63 victory. The Thunder shot 50 percent from the field in the second half (16-of-32) and 44 percent overall (27-of-62).
Trine returns to action tomorrow and await the winner of OSU-Lima/Bluffton. The Thunder will have the chance to win the Bluffton Holiday Tournament with a victory.