Martin's Big Afternoon leads Thunder past Anderson

Martin's Big Afternoon leads Thunder past Anderson

ANGOLA, Ind.-- Hayley Martin turned in one of the top scoring efforts in Trine history to lead the Thunder women's basketball team to a 67-54 victory over Anderson Saturday afternoon in Hershey Hall.

Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) poured in 31 points to tie for the fourth-highest scoring effort in a single game in program history. The sophomore connected on 9-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and hit 11-of-13 free throw attempts. She added 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Trine never trailed in the contest and led by as much as 20. The Ravens were led by Ashley O'Malley and Jireh Hart's 11 points. The Thunder improved to 3-1 on the season. Anderson fell to 1-4 on the year.

Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) added 17 points on a 7-of-14 effort from the field for Trine. Dawson has scored in double-figures in every game this season. Whitney Shaffer (Tipton, Ind./Tri-Central) chipped in eight points and connected on a pair of threes. The Thunder hit 6-of-14 attempts (42.9 percent) from long-distance and shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) overall.

The Thunder raced out to a 10-2 lead and never looked back. Martin and Taylor Cole (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Shepherd) paced the hot start with four points apiece, while Dawson added a bucket in the opening run.

Trine pushed the lead to double-digits for the first time on Martin's first three of the game with 3:48 to play in the first quarter. The double-digit lead for the Thunder would not drop to single-digits again until 12 seconds remained in the third quarter. Martin was dominant in the opening quarter, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Anderson used a 19-13 advantage in the third quarter to cut the Trine lead to 53-45 with 10 minutes to play. Shannon Gavaghan scored seven points in the third for the Ravens.

The Thunder responded, pushing the lead as high as 15 in the fourth quarter. Martin was instrumental in closing out the victory as she scored 10 points in the final quarter despite drawing double-teams in the post. Martin converted 6-of-7 free throw attempts to help seal the victory.

Trine opens MIAA play this Wednesday when the Thunder hit the road to face Hope. The Flying Dutch are ranked 11th in the nation. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.