FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Trine women's basketball team pulled off an 80-71 exhibition upset victory over Division I foe Fort Wayne Monday night at the Gates Center.
A 16-4 surge in the fourth quarter helped the Thunder turn a deficit into an eight-point lead entering the deciding stretch. Trine's all-conference duo of Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) and Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind. / Garrett) led the way, with Martin scoring 20 points on 8-11 shooting and Dawson adding 19 on an identical shooting line. While the game was considered an exhibition for Trine, the Mastodons were dealt a regular-season loss. Fort Wayne fell to 1-2 on the season.
Freshman Katy Steers (Portage, Ind. / Portage) also reached double-figures for the Thunder with 10 points. She added six rebounds and three assists. Cassidy Williams (Archbold, Ohio / Archbold) chipped in nine points and four assists, while Ashley Elliott (Scottsburg, Ind. / Scottsburg) added nine points as well. Trine shot 45 percent (26-of-58) from the field and outrebounded Fort Wayne by a 42-33 margin.
DeJour Young scored 16 points on 6-of-13 to lead Fort Wayne. Peyton Fallis came off the bench to add 12 points.
The game featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes. The Mastodons entered the fourth quarter holding a 55-51 lead. Trine took its first lead of the final quarter when Martin scored on a roll to the basket from Dawson to make the score 62-61. A Young three gave the Mastodons what would be their final lead of the night at 64-62 with 5:54 to play.
Dawson and Martin were each at their best in the fourth quarter. The duo combined for Trine's first 15 points of the quarter, with a Dawson bucket on the break giving the Thunder the lead for good at 66-64 with 5:21 to play. A dagger three from the corner by Steers pushed the lead to five, before another Martin bucket capped a 9-0 run to make the score 71-64 with 3:07 to play.
The Mastodons never got closer than five the rest of the way. Trine outscored Fort Wayne 29-16 in the decisive fourth quarter. Martin scored 14 of her points in the game's final 10 minutes, while Dawson added six in the final quarter. The duo combined to hit 9-of-12 from the field in the final quarter.
Trine opens the regular season Friday, Nov. 18 when the Thunder take on Wisconsin-Platteville at Wheaton College's Beth Baker Classic. Trine will face either Wheaton or Blackburn the following day.