LISLE, Ill. – The Trine University women's basketball team battled Benedictine University in Illinois on Wednesday night, and the Thunder came away with a 63-50 win on the road.
The win moves Trine to 3-0 and drops Benedictine to 1-3 to start the 2021-22 season.
Tara Bieniewicz [Chesterfield, Mich. / Dakota] was the talk of the night with her career-high 23 points and five made three-point field goals. The final of those would break the program record for most career made three-point field goals since the Thunder joined NCAA Division III. She now has 135 career makes, breaking the record previously held by Sarah Howe.
"It is a great honor to have," Bieniewicz mentioned. "I didn't even know I was close to that record, but I could not have done it without amazing teammates over the years. I'm glad we were able to get the win tonight."
The next step for Bieniewicz would be to break the all-time career three-point record in Trine history, currently at 154. It has been held by Traci Everidge since 1997.
Bieniewicz connected for a pair of three's to get the scoring started and Sam Underhill [Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview] hit a baseline jumper to make it 8-0 and forced Benedictine into a timeout five minutes into play.
The first Eagle points were scored at the free throw line with 4:29 to go in the opening period. The Thunder defense forced nine missed shots in a row and four turnovers before the first Benedictine field goal fell at the 1:45 mark. Even still, after one, Trine only held a 12-8 edge.
The Eagles were able to keep it close throughout the second quarter, and took their first lead of the game 18-16 on an offensive rebound and put back at 4:24 remaining in the first half. Bieniewicz knocked down her third shot from beyond the arc on the next alternating possession to seize back the lead heading into the locker room.
Down the stretch, the sister tandem of Alyssa Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] and Kaylee Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] each had points at the charity stripe to get to the 26-22 lead.
Six straight second half points by Benedictine gave them a confidence boost moving forward, but a basket from Rachel Stewart [Pekin, Ind. / Eastern] and the record-tying three-pointer from Bieniewicz put a halt to that.
The third quarter was the least productive offensively for Trine, and the Eagles were able to take a 38-37 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. Kelsy Taylor [Louisville, Ky. / New Albany] made a shot with the clock winding down off a pass by Kaylee Argyle to cut the deficit to one.
Sidney Wagner [Warsaw, Ind. / Tippecanoe Valley] entered the scoring column with back-to-back jump shots, but Benedictine was matching the Thunder point-for-point.
The fifth and record-breaking three-point shot from Bieniewicz would come in a key moment. With 4:30 on the clock, Bieniewicz connected on a three off a find by Underhill for her fifth of the game to take a 49-47 advantage. It would be the tipping point of the night, as the Thunder never trailed again.
Trine's defense held the Eagles without a made bucket for the rest of the game and six made free throws inside the final minute pushed the lead all the way up to 13 in the victory.
Aside from Bieniewicz's career night, Taylor had nine points and six rebounds, while Underhill led the team with eight rounds, three on the offensive end. As a team, Trine held Benedictine to 18-of-52 (34.6%) from the field and just 1-of-13 (7.7%) from long range.
This weekend's slate includes a trip to the Badger State. The Thunder travel to Wisconsin-Stout on Saturday, November 20 at 2 pm and Wisconsin-Eau Claire the next day at 3 pm.