ADRIAN, Mich.-- Ashley Elliott's layup as time expired lifted Trine to a 68-66 victory over Adrian in MIAA-action Saturday night at the Merillat Center.
With four seconds remaining, Elliott (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) took a pass up the right wing from Nikky Moan (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove), drove the basket, and beat the buzzer with a layup as time expired to give the Thunder the victory. The basket capped off a career-best 16-point performance for the freshman. She added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The win improves the Thunder to 14-9 overall, 8-6 in the MIAA. Trine is now in sole possession of the fourth and final seed for the MIAA Tournament with two games to play. Adrian falls to 7-16 overall and 3-11 in conference play.
With their 14th victory, the Thunder tied the 2012-13 team for their most wins in a season since joining NCAA Division III prior to the 2003-04 season. The eight-win improvement off last season's record is the best one-year improvement in program history since a 10-win jump between the 1993-94 and 94-95 seasons.
Whitney Shaffer (Tipton, Ind./Tri-Central) scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting to pace the offensive effort for Trine. She knocked down 3-of-5 from long-distance. Kayla Dunn (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) added 10 points.
Marissa Cotton scored 20 points, including 17 in the second half, to lead Adrian. Amber McCullough notched a double-double, with 15 points to go along with 12 boards. Antoinea McElroy scored all 14 of her points in the second half for the Bulldogs.
Adrian fought back from a 15-point second half deficit with a 23-2 run to take a 60-54 lead with 4:16 to play. A driving layup by Elliott stopped the run.
Shaffer came up huge on Trine's next three possessions, with a driving layup and a transition three to give the Thunder a 61-60 lead with 2:17 to play. Another Shaffer layup pushed the lead to three with just 1:49 to play.
TraeVie Shelton cut the Trine lead to one. The Thunder hit 3-of-6 free throw attempts, while McElroy hit a pair of free throws at the other end. Cotton's layup with four seconds on the clock tied the score, before excellent execution from the Thunder led to Elliott's game-winner.
Trine returns to action this Wednesday, Feb. 18 when they host Alma at 7 p.m. A Thunder win, combined with an Olivet loss, would guarantee Trine a berth in the MIAA Tournament.