Angola, Ind. – Trine women's basketball defeated Albion, 69-45, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference game Saturday afternoon in Hershey Hall.
Trine's lockdown defense was the key to the victory. The Thunder held Albion to scoring single digits in each of the first three quarters of play. The Thunder limited the Britons to 26.5 percent (9-of-34) shooting from the field. The defensive effort held Albion to 32 points below its season scoring average. Trine was able to hold the MIAA's leading scorer to 12 points below average. Trine outscored Albion in the paint by a margin of 40-6 and converted 23 points off of Albion's 17 turnovers. Taylor Cole's (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Shepherd) four steals move her into sixth on Trine's all-time career list for steals with 164.
Trine's Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) had 15 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal on the night. She recorded her second double-double of the season. H. Martin's block gives her 43 on the year and ties her for second-most in a season in team history. Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) added to the offense with 12 points.
Trine improves to 17-2 overall and 10-1 in MIAA play. Albion falls to 14-5 overall and 7-4 in MIAA play. The Thunder's win ties the 2015-16 team with 10 MIAA wins, most since joining the conference in 2004.
The Thunder went on a 9-0 run early in the first quarter to take the quick lead over the Britons and never looked backed. Dawson was Trine's lead scorer in the first with eight points. Trine's defense scored 11 points off Albion's six turnovers in the first quarter. Trine led Olivet 19-7 going into the second.
Trine continued to keep its lead on Albion, only letting them get within eight points once. Dawson and H. Martin paced the Thunder's offense in the first half with eight points apiece. The Thunder defense held the Britons to a 27.3 percent (6-of-22) shooting from the floor and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) behind the three-point line. Trine led Albion 34-16 going into the second half.
In the second half Trine picked up where it left off in the first by increasing its lead by 20 points. Cole had three steals in the third quarter to contribute to Trine's defensive effort. The Thunder led 50-24 going into the final quarter of play
In the final quarter of play Trine was on cruise control. H. Martin added five more points to her 15 point total.
Trine returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 1 when the Thunder host non-conference opponent Illinois Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Trine University, Communications New Media '17
