ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University women's basketball team held on to defeat Ohio Northern University, 61-53, in a non-conference game at the MTI Center in Angola, Ind.
Two players scored in double figures for the Thunder in sophomores Kelsy Taylor (Louisville, Ky./New Albany) and Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterfield, Mich./Dakota). Taylor led all players with a game-high 15 points on seven-of-10 shooting (70.0 percent). Bieniewicz added 11 points with nine of her points coming from behind the three-point line.
In addition, junior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and senior Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) tallied a game-high six assists.
In the first quarter, ONU (6-2) missed its first 10 shots of the game while Trine (6-3) took advantage and jumped out to a 10-0 lead that included a three-pointer and layup by Bieniewicz during the run. The Polar Bears got on the scoreboard with a little over three minutes to play in the period, but it was the home team that had a six-point margin after the first 10 minutes, 11-5.
ONU hung around in the second quarter and got to within four points twice, that included a 19-15 deficit with 5:37 to go in the half. Trine then began to take control with an ensuing 10-2 scoring run that was capped by another triple by Bieniewicz that made it a 12-point game, 29-17, with 2:08 on the clock. ONU got to within single digits before the end of the half, but Trine still maintained a sizeable eight-point lead, 31-23, going into the locker rooms.
Momentum continued to swing between the two squads in the third quarter as ONU started play with back-to-back baskets to get back to within four points, 31-27, at the 9:01 mark. Trine again responded with a sizeable run, this time a 9-2 streak that began with a bucket by Taylor and ended in a three-pointer by sophomore Kayla Wildman (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) that made the score, 40-29. The Polar Bears then rattled off eight straight points of their own to make it a one possession game, 40-37, but a three-pointer by sophomore Kaylee Argyle (Freeland, Mich./Freeland) ended the scoring in the final 4:36 of the third quarter to boost the lead to 43-37 heading into the final stanza.
ONU pulled to within four points, 43-39, after a pair of free-throws started the scoring in the fourth, but that's as close as the Polar Bears got the rest of the way as Trine capitalized on a jumper and a layup that extended the lead to eight points, 47-39, with 7:53 to go in the game. The Thunder led by as many as nine points with a little over a minute to go thanks to one-of-two free-throws by Steers. A three-pointer by ONU was followed by a layup by Taylor and ended the scoring as Trine came away with the 61-53 victory.
Trine will return to the court next week for the two-day Otterbein (Ohio) University Tournament next Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 28-29. The Thunder will take on Denison (Ohio) University in its first game of the event on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. in Westerville, Ohio.