NOTRE DAME, Ind.-- A balanced scoring effort led the Trine women's basketball team to a 68-51 victory over Saint Mary's in MIAA-action Wednesday night at Angela Athletic Facility.
Four Thunder scored in double figures to pace the offensive effort. Leading the way was Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb), who scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Montana Martin (Columbia City, Ind./Churubusco) reached double figures for the first time in her career, scoring a career-high 11 points off the bench. Eleni Shea paced the Belles with a 20-point effort and surpassed the 1,000-career point plateau. Trine improved to 13-7 overall and evened its conference record at 6-6. Saint Mary's fell to 1-20 overall, 1-11 in conference play.
Ashley Elliott (Scottbsurg, Ind./Scottsburg) added 12 points for the Thunder. Elliott knocked down all six of her free throw attempts. Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) contributed 10 points. Trine shot 48 percent (26-of-54) from the field.
Krista Knapke added nine points for the Belles and gave SMC two players surpassing 1,000-career points in the game.
Seven points from Hayley Martin paced the first quarter effort as the Thunder took a 19-16 lead after the first 10 minutes. A layup-and-one by Martin helped pace a 7-0 run to open the action.
Cassidy Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) and Montana Martin led a strong effort by Trine's second unit in the second quarter. The duo combined for 11 points, with Martin scoring six and Williams chipping in with five. Martin's effort led her to a new career-high before the half. Five-straight from Williams gave the Thunder its first double-digit lead at 28-18. Trine would take a 34-26 lead into the break.
The Thunder bench proved important in the victory as they produced 23 points. Williams accounted for seven of those and dished out four assists.
Trine's lead held in double-digits for most of the second half until the Belles cut the score to 56-47 with 3:43 to play. The Thunder hit right back with a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach. Martin and Dawson provided all the scoring during the run.
Trine returns to action this Saturday, Feb. 6 when the Thunder host Calvin at 3 p.m. in Hershey Hall. The Knights are ranked 19th in the nation.
