ANGOLA, IND. -- Despite trailing after the first quarter of play, the Trine University women's basketball team came back to beat Kalamazoo (Mich.) College by a sizeable 37-point margin, 75-38, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at the MTI Center in Angola, Ind.
Trine was led in scoring by senior Cassidy Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) with a game-high 17 points on six-of-nine shooting (66.7 percent). Sophomore Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) was second with a career-high 15 points and also had five rebounds. Rounding out the high scorers was senior Montana Martin (Columbia City, Ind./Churubusco) who added 11 points.
In addition, freshman Kelsy Taylor (Louisville, Ky./New Albany) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with nine points and senior Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) tallied a game-high five assists along with grabbing seven boards.
Defensively, the Thunder held the Hornets to 27.5 percent shooting for the game (14-of-51) and forced 20 turnovers.
The first quarter belonged to Kalamazoo (0-6, 0-1 MIAA) as the Hornets shot 55.6 percent (five-of-nine) from the field and held Trine (7-1, 2-0 MIAA) to just 15.8 percent shooting (three-of-11). The Thunder scored the first points of the game on a layup by Herbert, but then went scoreless until the four minute mark while Kalamazoo scored seven straight points as part of a larger 12-2 scoring run to lead by eight points, 12-4, with a little over two minutes to play in the quarter. Trine gained some momentum to end the frame that came via a three-pointer by freshman Julia Pate (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) and a pair of free-throws by sophomore Paige Reid (Grand Blanc, Mich./Holly) to end the scoring and narrow the gap to three points, 12-9, after the first 10 minutes.
In a complete reversal of the first period, Trine began to find the offense in the second quarter and shot 60.0 percent (nine-of-15) while holding its opponents to just 25.0 percent shooting (four-of-16). The Thunder continued their scoring streak into the quarter with a triple by Herbert, followed by a layup by Herbert, that resulted in Trine posting its first lead since Herbert scored the game's opening bucket, 14-12. The two teams traded leads up until the 5:58 mark when the two teams were deadlocked at 17-17 and the Thunder then scored six consecutive points to gain some breathing room, 23-17, with 4:36 to go in the half. The six straight points began what turned out to be a 12-1 run by the home team en route to gaining an 11-point advantage, 29-18, following a three-point play by Williams with 2:21 remaining. Trine maintained its double-digit lead when time expired and took a 12-point advantage into the locker rooms with a halftime score of 34-22.
The second half saw Trine continue to take over the game as the Hornets were held to a combined 16 points the rest of the way. Trine outscored Kalamazoo, 18-6, in quarter number three which began with a 13-1 run by the Thunder that ended in a jumper by Williams and extended the margin to 24 points, 47-23, at the 6:52 mark. The lead grew to as many as 27 points in the period following a three-point play by Taylor that made it a 52-25 game with 3:08 left. Kalamazoo was held to just three points until a final three-pointer by the Hornets capped the scoring and made the score, 52-28, heading into the fourth quarter.
Trine began the fourth quarter with a string of 11 consecutive points that put the Thunder out in front by 35 points, 63-28. The home squad recorded its largest lead of the game of 38 points on two occasions that included a 71-33 margin with 2:12 remaining in the game thanks to a layup by Pate. The Thunder would eventually go on to win by the final of 75-38.
Trine will go for a possible sixth-straight victory when it travels to Grand Rapids, Mich. for a MIAA contest against Calvin (Mich.) College on Saturday, Dec. 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.