ANGOLA, IND. -- After leading by just three points at the end of the first quarter, the Trine University women's basketball team outscored Adrian (Mich.) College, 60-24, in the final three periods to post a 74-35 victory against the Bulldogs in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action at the MTI Center.
The victory against Adrian also marked the 20th of the season for Trine and has now posted back-to-back seasons with 20 or more wins.
Trine had three players score in double figures, led by junior Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) with a game-high 17 points on seven-of-12 shooting (58.3 percent). She also had a game-high four steals and team-tying best seven rebounds. Senior Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) was second in scoring with 16 points and tied Dawson for the team-lead in rebounding with seven boards. Senior Jayde Abenth (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) rounded out the high scorers with 13 points.
Trine (20-2, 12-1 MIAA) jumped out to a 7-1 advantage early, but Adrian (8-13, 5-8 MIAA) rallied with an ensuing 7-2 run to climb to within a point, 9-8, with 3:33 to go in the first quarter. The Bulldogs later matched their one-point deficit at the 1:55 mark, trailing, 12-11. The Thunder tallied the final points of the period with 14 seconds left on a jumper by sophomore Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) that gave the home team a 14-11 lead heading into the second frame.
The Thunder began quarter number two with 13 unanswered points to take a commanding 16-point margin, 27-11, with 3:43 to go in the half. Trine held Adrian to just four points in the quarter as the Thunder maintained their double-digit lead throughout. The final point of the half came off the hands of junior Montana Martin (Columbia City, Ind./Churubusco) with one-of-two free-throws to make it a 30-15 ballgame at the break.
The second half began with Trine continuing to pull away as the Thunder scored the first 11 points which ended in a three-pointer by Hayley Martin and gave Trine a 26-point lead, 41-15, at the 5:54 mark. Trine went on to lead by as many as 31 points in the period, 50-19, en route to a 53-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Steers put the Thunder back over the 30-point plateau early in the fourth quarter with a jumper as Trine continued its dominant play. Abenth connected on a shot from behind the arc to end the scoring for either team with 17 seconds remaining and resulted in Trine's largest lead of the game with the final score of 74-35.
Adrian was held to just 23.8 percent (10-of-42) shooting as a team, including 12.5 percent (two-of-16) from three-point range. The Bulldogs' leading scorer was Ashley Morris with nine points.
Trine will look to continue its nine-game winning streak with a road trip to Notre Dame, Ind. to take on Saint Mary's College on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.