KALAMAZOO, MICH. -- For the second straight game, junior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) scored a double-double to help lead the Trine University women's basketball team to a 66-39 win against Kalamazoo (Mich.) College in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action at the Anderson Athletic Center in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Herbert finished with 13 points on four-of-seven shooting (57.1 percent) and had 11 rebounds to lead Trine statistically. Sophomore Kayla Wildman (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) was the only other Thunder player to score in double figures with 10 points.
Senior Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) dished out five assists to go along with a pair of steals and five boards. Sophomore Kelsy Taylor (Louisville, Ky./New Albany) rounded out the top individual performances of the afternoon with seven rebounds.
Trine held Kalamazoo to just nine made fields in the game (nine-of-44), six of which came from three-point range (six-of-14). The remaining points for the Hornets came from the free-throw line as KZOO went to the line 21 times and made 15 of those attempts.
KZOO (4-14, 2-7 MIAA) was held to three points in the first quarter with all of its points coming within the first 2:42 of play. After falling behind by an early 3-0 deficit, Trine (14-4, 8-1 MIAA) then scored 17 unanswered points to end the quarter, highlighted by seven points coming off the hands of Wildman, as the Thunder led by a commanding 17-3 margin after the opening 10 minutes.
The scoring run continued for Trine into the start of the second quarter as a three-pointer by Herbert which she followed up with a layup on the Thunder's next offensive possession, made it a 19-point advantage, 22-3, at the 8:46 mark. Shortly after, sophomore Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterfield, Mich./Dakota) gave Trine its first 20-point margin on a layup with 7:39 to go in the period to make it a 24-4 game. The Hornets made a little of a run by outscoring the Thunder, 9-2, over the next five minutes to get to within 13 points, 26-13. That would be as close as KZOO got the remainder of the quarter, however, and trailed Trine by 14 points, 31-17, heading into halftime.
Trine's lead hovered around the 20-point margin in the early minutes of the third quarter until a 15-2 Thunder run opened up a 30-point lead for the visitors that ended in a layup by sophomore Sophia Kraeg (Westfield, Ind./Westfield). KZOO tallied the final point of the quarter thanks to one-of-two free-throws, but still trailed by 29 points heading into the final period.
The first points of the fourth quarter were scored by freshman Sam Underhill (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) and gave Trine its largest lead of the game of 31 points, 55-24, which was matched later in the frame when Taylor connected on two free-throws that made it a 61-30 game with six minutes to go. The Trine lead never dropped below 25 points the remainder of the game as the visitors ran away with a 66-39 victory.
Trine will host Calvin (Mich.) College on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at the MTI Center. The two MIAA foes are scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.