HOLLAND, MICH. -- The Trine University women's basketball team traveled to Holland, Mich. to take on top-ranked Hope (Mich.) College, but fell short of a possible upset by a final score of 61-52 in non-conference action.
Hope (5-0) jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter. A layup by sophomore Sam Underhill (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) narrowed the deficit to five points, 11-6, but a 7-0 scoring run by the Flying Dutch to end the period put the home team ahead by 12 points, 18-6, after 10 minutes of action.
Trine (5-1) gained some ground in the second quarter by outscoring Hope, 17-14. The Hope lead grew to 15 points on two occasions in the first three minutes of the quarter when a three-pointer by senior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) started an 8-0 Trine run and cut the deficit to seven points, 23-16, with 4:26 to go in the half. The Thunder later still trailed by seven points, 27-20, following a pair of free-throws by junior Kaylee Argyle (Freeland, Mich./Freeland), but a 5-0 mini run by Hope extended the margin back out to double figures, 32-20, with 38 seconds remaining. The final points of the half came on a three-pointer by Trine junior Kayla Wildman (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) which also made it a nine-point contest at the intermission, 32-23.
In the third quarter, Trine outscored Hope, 8-5, early and made it a six-point game (37-31) after a three-point play by Wildman at the 6:24 mark. The Dutch then grabbed momentum with an ensuing 10-2 run to go up by 14 points, 47-33, with a little over four minutes left in the period. The margin remained in double figures the rest of the way as Trine headed into the fourth quarter by a score of 51-39.
The fourth quarter began with an 8-2 Hope run that gave the Dutch their largest lead of the game of 18 points, 59-41, at the 4:48 mark. Trine looked to make a possible rally by outscoring Hope, 11-2, to end the game which cut the Hope lead to single digits. But time ran out on the run as the possible comeback fell short with a final score of 61-52.
Kaylee Argyle led two Trine players in double-digit scoring with 11 points on four-of-nine shooting (44.4 percent). Wildman rounded out the high scorers with 10 points. Herbert led all players in rebounding with a game-high seven boards in addition to scoring eight points.
Trine is scheduled to host Albion (Mich.) College on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the MTI Center. The game is slated to start at 3 p.m.