ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine women's basketball team restarted its 2020-21 season with a 67-26 win against Alma (Mich.) College in a non-conference game at the MTI Center.
Trine (3-0) held Alma (0-1) to just two points in the first quarter as the Scots went one-of-13 (7.7 percent) from the field. Alma scored the first points of the game on a layup 12 seconds into the quarter, but wouldn't find the bottom of the net the rest of the way as Trine scored 15 unanswered points. Junior Kelsy Taylor (Louisville, Ky./New Albany) tallied the first points for the Thunder on a jumper at the 6:51 mark. Trine finished the period shooting five-of-17 (29.4 percent) in the first 10 minutes to lead, 15-2, at the end of the first frame.
The home team continued to pull away in the second quarter and eclipsed the 20-point lead plateau with 4:41 left in the half when sophomore Alyssa Argyle (Freeland, Mich./Freeland) connected on a three-pointer that made it a 30-8 ball game. Just under three minutes later, the Thunder posted their largest lead of the half of 26 points following a jumper by junior Kayla Wildman (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) for a 36-10 margin with 1:46 remaining. After a triple by Alma, senior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) capped the scoring in the half with a layup as time expired sending Trine into the locker rooms with a 38-13 advantage.
Trine held Alma to single-digit scoring in both the third and fourth quarters, starting with a 15-6 edge in the third stanza. Boasting a 44-17 lead at the 4:36 mark, a jumper by junior Rachel Stewart (Pekin, Ind./Eastern) sparked a streak of nine straight points for the Thunder that ballooned the home squad's advantage to 36 points. Alma scored the final points with a layup en route to a score of 53-19 in favor of the home squad heading into the final quarter.
Already with the game well in hand, Trine started the fourth period with a 6-2 scoring run to go up by 38 points and went on to post its largest lead of the game of 42 points with under a minute to go thanks to a layup by junior Natalee Kunse (Clare, Mich./Clare) for a score of 65-23. After a three-pointer by the Scots on their ensuing offensive possession, Trine sophomore Maggie O'Neill (Orland Park, Ill./Nazareth Academy) recorded the final points of the contest and sent the Thunder to the final score of 67-26.
Overall for the game, Trine shot 39.4 percent (26-of-66) from the floor and outrebounded Alma by a margin of 57-35. The Thunder also forced 16 Scot turnovers which led to 18 points.
Individually, Wildman was the lone Trine player to score in double figures with a game-high 13 points on five-of-14 shooting (35.7 percent). Herbert, Taylor and sophomore Sam Underhill (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) all finished second with eight points each. In addition, Herbert had a big day on the glass with a game-high 10 rebounds (one offensive and nine defensive), while Underhill added nine boards.
Trine is set to travel to Olivet, Mich. on Saturday (Jan. 23) for a matchup against Olivet College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.