HOLLAND, MICH. -- For the fourth time in the last five years, the Trine University women's basketball team squared-off against Hope (Mich.) College in the championship game of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament. The Flying Dutch defeated the Thunder in this year's matchup, 59-55, to grab the title.
Trine (21-6) got off to a quick start and led by five points early, 7-2, and led for the majority of the first quarter. Hope (27-0) had a one-point edge at the 4:42 mark, but a three-pointer by sophomore Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterfield, Mich./Dakota) on Trine's ensuing offensive possession, regained the lead for the Thunder, 11-9, with 4:27 remaining. The Dutch trailed by two points with two minutes to go, 13-11, then outscored the Thunder, 6-1, to end the period which resulted in a three-point lead for the home team after the first 10 minutes, 17-14.
After nearly a minute went by to begin the second quarter, Hope struck first with one-of-two free-throws to extend the margin to four points, 18-14. Trine's Sophie Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) then hit a three-pointer to spark a 9-0 run to grab momentum with a five-point lead, 23-18, at the 5:03 mark. Hope took momentum right back, however, with an 11-2 run to retake the lead by a four-point margin, 29-25, with two minutes left in the half. A three-point play by sophomore Kelsy Taylor (Louisville, Ky./New Albany), followed by layup by sophomore Kayle Argyle (Freeland, Mich./Freeland) put Trine out in front yet again, 30-29. The Dutch tallied the final points of the half with 30 seconds to go and took a 31-30 lead into the locker rooms.
Hope got a bit of breathing room in the first few minutes of the third quarter with a seven-point advantage, 42-35, at the 5:52 mark. Trine kept composure and outscored the home team, 10-2, to tie the game and take the lead on a one-of-two freebies by senior Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage). The remaining points in the period were scored by Hope on a pair of free-throws with 14 seconds on the clock that made it a 46-45 ball game in favor of the Dutch heading into the fourth quarter.
Trine took the lead early in the fourth period following a three-pointer by Bieniewicz with just over seven-and-a-half minutes remaining. Hope came back with two free-throws to take the lead and never ended up trailing again. Trine made it a one-possession game, 57-55, at the 1:19 mark, but the Thunder missed on its final two field goal attempts and two free-throw opportunities which led to Trine having to foul to try and preserve time on the clock. The Dutch went two-of-four on their charity stripe attempts in the final seconds, but it would be enough as the Dutch went on to claim the four-point victory, 59-55.
Trine had two players score in double figures with both Steers and Bieniewicz finishing with 14 points. The majority of the points for Steers came at the free-throw line as she made 10 of her 14 attempts (71.4 percent) and was two-of-five (40.0 percent) in field goal attempts. Bieniewicz shot five-of-nine (55.6 percent) from the floor with four of her "makes" coming from three-point range (four-of-seven). Both players also led the team in rebounding with five boards each.
Trine will wait and see if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The tournament field will be announced on Monday, Mar. 2 at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.