FRANKLIN, IND.-- Trine led Ohio Northern for a good portion of the contest, but the Polar Bears took over down the stretch to earn a 70-64 victory in the season-opener Saturday night at the Franklin College Tip-Off Classic.
The Thunder led for nearly the entirety of a strech from the 8:02 mark of the first half until 8:20 remained in the contest. Ohio Northern took over down the final stretch however, as the 2014 NCAA Tournament participant outscored Trine 19-9 over the final 10:02 to earn the victory. Karissa Steffas led four Polar Bears in double-figures with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kayla Dunn (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) scored a career-high 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting to lead Trine. The Thunder open the season 0-1. ONU opens with a 1-0 record.
Alivia Recker (Arlington, Ohio/Arlington) came off the bench to score 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting for Trine. Seven new players made their debuts for the Thunder. Nikky Moan (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) led all newcomers with nine points. Six Trine players scored six points or more.
Carly Thomas and Brooke Epenscheid each notched 12 points for the Polar Bears. Jordan Kimes added 10 points and eight rebounds. ONU outrebounded Trine by a 43-32 edge and shot 44 percent from the field (22-of-50).
After a slow start that saw Trine trailing by as many as eight early, the Thunder stormed back to take the lead with a 17-3 run midway through the first half. A Whitney Shaffer (Tipton, Ind./Tri-Central) three gave the Thunder a 23-21 lead with 8:02 to play in the first half. Trine would push the lead as high as 32-24 on a Taylor Cole (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Shepherd) jumper with 4:37 remaining in the half.
The Polar Bears fought back to take the lead early in the second half, as a pair of Angela Tesny free throws made the score 42-41. Back-to-back threes by Moan and Dunn restored the Thunder lead.
Trine would hold on to that lead until 8:02 remained in the contest, when Kimes hit a pair of free throws to knot the score at 57. A pair of Epenscheid free throws gave ONU the lead for good with 7:09 to play. The Thunder pulled within one on two occasions, but couldn't regain the lead the rest of the way.
Dunn pulled Trine back within one possession on a made free throw to pull the score within 67-64 with 1:04 remaining. The Thunder got the rebound after missing the second free throw, but ONU was able to force a turnover. Thomas hit a jumper on the other end with 37 seconds left to push the score to 69-64 and put the game out of reach.
Trine concludes their performance in the Franklin Tip-Off Classic tomorrow when they face Muskingum at 3 p.m.