HOLLAND, MICH.  --  The Trine University women's basketball team fell to Hope (Mich.) College, 64-54, in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament Championship game and season finale in Holland, Mich.

Trine (14-3) began the game with one-of-two free-throws by sophomore Makayla Ardis (Lake City, Mich./Lake City) and a three-pointer by senior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) to grab an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter.  Hope (16-0) then went on an 8-2 scoring run to take a two-point edge, 8-6, at the 4:25 mark.  The Thunder answered the run with five straight points that began with a three-pointer by junior Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterfield, Mich./Dakota) and resulted in a three-point lead for Trine.  The Flying Dutch answered the Thunder's mini scoring run with seven unanswered points to regain the lead and never trailed again on its way to having a six-point advantage after the first period, 18-12.

Hope continued to pull away to start the second quarter with seven straight points to take a 13-point lead, 25-12, with 8:23 to go in the half.  The seven unanswered points were part of a larger 14-3 run by the Dutch that resulted in Hope taking a 17-point advantage, 32-15, with just under five-and-a-half minutes remaining.  Trine then gained some ground with a pair of triples by Bieniewicz, but Hope would maintain a 13-point margin at the break, 37-24.

In the third quarter, Trine cut the deficit to single digits by outscoring Hope, 8-2, in the first 3:18 to make it a 39-32 ball game.  The two teams then traded layups to keep the margin at seven points, but Hope then ended the quarter on a 10-4 run to extend the lead back to double figures by a margin of 13 points, 51-38, heading into the fourth quarter.

Bieniewicz got the scoring started for Trine to begin the final period with a three-pointer and sparked an 8-0 run that put the Thunder within striking distance trailing by five points, 51-46, with 6:21 to go in regulation.  The Hope lead remained in single figures until the 3:44 mark when the Dutch went on a 5-0 run to make it a 60-49 game.  Trine then made a final push in the last minutes and got to within seven points following a layup by Ardis with 1:18 left on the clock.  Forced foul, Hope secured the victory at the free-throw line as the Dutch converted four attempts down the stretch en route to taking the 64-54 victory.

Trine had two players score in double figures led by Bieniewicz who finished the game with a game-high 19 points on seven-of-14 shooting (50.0 percent).  Bieniewicz also connected on five triples for 15 of her 19 points.  In addition, she was one of three players to grab a team-tying high five rebounds.

Herbert was the other Trine player to score in double digits with 11 points with all but two of those points coming from long range (three-of-five).