ANGOLA, Ind.-- Adrian took control in the second half to hand the Trine women's basketball team a 67-60 defeat in MIAA-action Saturday afternoon in Hershey Hall.
The Bulldogs outscored the Thunder 41-21 in the final 20 minutes to erase a 13-point halftime deficit. Adrian trailed by as much as 17 in the contest. Antoinea McElroy led the Bulldogs with a double-double, scoring 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting and adding 11 rebounds. McElroy has notched a double-double in each of her last two games. Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double to lead Trine. The Thunder fell to 3-3 overall, 0-2 in the MIAA. Adrian improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Taylor Cole (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Shepherd) and Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) each added 10 points for the Thunder. Cassidy Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) contributed a career-high six points off the bench. Trine was able to get to the free throw line consistently, knocking down 26-of-32 (81 percent) foul shots.
Marissa Cotton came off the bench to score 13 points for the Bulldogs. She added a game-high five assists. Amber McCullough also reached double-figures with 10 points. Adrian shot 48 percent in the second half (14-of-29) while holding the Thunder to a 19 percent clip (6-of-31) over that span to pace the comeback.
Trine appeared to be seizing control after a 14-0 run opened up the largest lead of the game for the Thunder at 30-13 with 6:01 to play in the first half. Old-fashioned three-point plays by Martin and Ashley Elliott (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) highlighted the run. Martin scored five of her points during that stretch. The Thunder would take a 39-26 lead into the half. Seven Trine players scored four or more points in the first half.
The Thunder were able to withstand a couple mini pushes by Adrian to start the third quarter. The Trine lead shrank to single-digits for the first time, but Dawson had the answer to push the lead back to 10. That wouldn't last long, as an 11-4 Bulldog run to close the third brought the score within 50-47. McElroy started to heat up, as she scored the last seven points of the quarter.
A layup by McCullough gave Adrian its first lead of the game, 53-52 with 6:01 to play. An Elliott layup answered, but the Bulldogs took over down the stretch.
A bucket by McElory, a jumper by McCullough, a three by Cotton and another McElroy jumper gave Adrian a 9-0 run and a 63-54 lead with 2:01 to play. Trine never got closer than five the rest of the way.
McElroy scored 21 of her points in the second half, knocking down 8-of-10 from the floor. McElroy knocked down both of her threes in the half and grabbed seven rebounds in the fourth quarter. McElroy, Cotton and McCullough scored all but two Bulldog points in the second half.
Trine returns to action this Wednesday, Dec. 9 when they host Kalamazoo at 7:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall.