ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine women's basketball team overcame a slow start and dominated the last three quarters to earn a 71-54 victory over Albion in MIAA-action Saturday afternoon in Hershey Hall.
The Thunder spotted Albion an eight-point lead late in the first quarter, but hit back with a 22-4 second quarter performance to turn the tide. Trine's second half lead never shrunk below seven points after the big second quarter. Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) scored a career-high 23 points on a 10-of-15 shooting effort from the field to pace the Thunder. She added nine rebounds. Darian Payne led the Britons with 14 points and seven rebounds. Trine improved to 10-4 overall and evened its MIAA record at 3-3. Albion fell to 4-9 overall, 1-4 in conference play.
Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) added 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. She also tied a career-high with three blocks. Ashley Elliott (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) contributed 13 points and sank all eight of her free throw attempts. Elliott leads the MIAA in free throw percentage.
The Thunder shot 50 percent from the field (26-of-52), marking the third time the team has shot 50 percent or better from the field this season. Trine held the Britons to a 32 percent (21-of-65) shooting clip.
Oreyana Curry notched 12 points for Albion. Jay Bard added nine points off the bench.
Payne paced a hot start for the Britons as they pulled out to an 18-10 lead late in the first quarter. Payne scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Britons also forced the Thunder into six first quarter turnovers to take an 18-12 lead at the end of the first.
Trine righted the ship in the second quarter to take control of the contest. The defensive effort held Albion to 1-of-13 shooting performance in the quarter. Dawson paced the offensive effort, scoring 10 points off an array of drives and midrange jumpers. The sophomore scored 10-straight Thunder points as Trine turned a 20-17 deficit into a 27-22 advantage. The Thunder would take a 34-22 lead into the half.
The Britons chopped the lead to seven early in the second half, but a 10-2 run by Trine opened up a 44-29 lead midway through the third. This time it was Martin keying the surge as she scored seven of her points during that stretch, including a layup-and-one to cap the run. Elliott also knocked down a three during that run.
The double-digit lead would shrink to single digits just once the rest of the afternoon. Dawson added 11 more points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Trine gets a bye from league-action Wednesday before hosting Olivet next Saturday, Jan. 16. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.