NOTRE DAME, IND. -- The Trine University women's basketball team captured its fourth straight win, and 13th in its last 14 games, with an 84-47 rout of Saint Mary's (Ind.) College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association matchup in Notre Dame, Ind.
Trine had an overall impressive shooting performance on the day, shooting 50.8 percent (31-of-61) overall, 51.7 percent (eight-of-14) from three-point range and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) at the free-throw line.
The Thunder had three players score in double figures with senior Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) leading the way with 17 points on six-of-15 shooting (40.0 percent). The duo of freshman Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterfield, Mich./Dakota) and junior Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) both contributed with 10 points each. Steers also grabbed a game-high six rebounds in the win.
The two teams played to a 5-5 tie early in the first quarter when Trine (14-2, 7-0 MIAA) took over with a 15-2 scoring run that ended in a jumper by Dawson at the three-minute mark and gave the Thunder a 13-point margin, 20-7. Sophomore Paige Reid (Grand Blanc, Mich./Holly) gave Trine its largest lead of the quarter with a three-pointer with 38 seconds left which turned out to be the final points by either team the rest of the way as the Thunder led, 29-10.
Trine held Saint Mary's (7-9, 4-3 MIAA) to just eight points in the second quarter, but six of those points came in the first 2:24 of the period as the Belles got to within 13 points, 29-16, at the 7:26 mark. The Thunder defense then began to hold their ground as Saint Mary's scored just two points the remainder of the half and allowed Trine to extend its lead to as many as 27 points with a halftime score of 45-18.
In the third quarter, Trine recorded its first 30-point lead with 7:04 to play thanks to a layup by sophomore Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) to make it a 51-20 game. A pair of free-throws by senior Montana Martin (Columbia City, Ind./Churubusco) late in the frame gave the Thunder a large lead of 36 points en route to having a 62-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Following a layup and a three-point play by the Belles in the first 45 seconds of the final quarter, Trine scored nine consecutive points to lead by 38 points, 71-33, with 7:27 remaining. The Trine lead never dropped below the 30-point plateau the rest of the game and went on to post its largest margin of the contest of 39 points with 16 seconds left thanks to a layup by freshman Rachel Stewart (Pekin, Ind./Eastern). Saint Mary's tallied the final points of the game with a pair of freebies, but Trine would get the win by a final of 84-47.
Trine will look to keep its winning momentum going as the Thunder will begin a five-game homestand starting with a MIAA matchup against Albion (Mich.) College on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The two teams are scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. at the MTI Center.