ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's basketball team was defeated by Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) foe Hope College in a battle of two top-10 programs on Saturday, 70-61.
The Flying Dutch (10-0, 3-0 MIAA), ranked number one in NCAA DIII, pulled away slightly in the second half to notch their 55th consecutive victory at MTI Center. It is the first home loss for the Thunder (8-2, 3-1 MIAA) this season.
Hope held the seventh-ranked team in the nation to just 35.7% from the field and forced Trine into 19 turnovers, a season-worst in both categories.
The visitors to Angola jumped out to a 9-2 lead and head coach Andy Rang called a quick timeout to stop the scoring run. Scores on three of four possessions led by Rachel Stewart [Pekin, Ind. / Eastern] with two free throws, an assist to Alyssa Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] on a three-point field goal and an and-one cut the deficit down to three with two minutes to go in the first. Trine found themselves down 21-16 at the end of the period.
The Thunder defense turned into offense in the second quarter with Katie Sloneker [Monroe, Ohio / Monroe] getting on the board with an early three in transition from Makayla Ardis [Lake City, Mich. / Lake City] and Kayla Wildman [Rockford, Mich. / Rockford] getting a steal and score at the seven-minute mark.
Alyssa Argyle brought the Trine back to even at 28 all with four minutes to go in the second quarter and took their first lead via Chelsi Giesige [Paulding, Ohio / Paulding] at the free throw line. A Flying Dutch scored with just a few ticks left in the second to go into halftime up 36-34.
Three consecutive makes from deep for Hope gave the road squad their largest lead of the game three minutes into the third quarter, 45-34. Wildman and Sidney Wagner [Warsaw, Ind. / Tippecanoe Valley] combined for seven of the last eight Thunder points, but they still found themselves down 51-45 with 10 minutes remaining.
The freshman Wagner was critical down the stretch for Trine at the guard spot. She scored four points and was credited with an assist and a blocked shot in the fourth quarter to keep Trine in the ballgame. Three-point plays from Tara Bieniewicz [Chesterfield, Mich. / Dakota] and Kelsy Taylor [Louisville, Ky. / New Albany] worked in favor of the Thunder as well, but Trine was never able to get within one possession before the final buzzer sounded.
The Flying Dutch, who struggled from the free throw line in the game (16-for-30), did just enough to put the game away late, 70-61.
Wildman led Trine in scoring with a season-high 15 points and recorded her third straight double-digit scoring game. Ardis tallied eight points and dished out a team-best three assists. Taylor pulled down seven rebounds to pace the home team.
The Thunder play a non-conference game against #16 Baldwin Wallace University on Wednesday, December 22 at 5 pm before taking a Christmas break.