ALBION, Mich. – The Trine University women's basketball team defeated Albion College, who was receiving votes in this week's D3hoops.com top 25 poll, 69-56.
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) win marks the fifth straight victory for the fifth-ranked Thunder (13-2, 6-1 MIAA) and the Britons fall to 13-4 overall and 6-2 through the first half of league play.
Trine knocked down 10-of-21 three-point field goals in the game, including five from Kayla Wildman [Rockford, Mich. / Rockford] who led the team in scoring with 18 points. The Thunder also had assists on 14 of their 23 makes.
Tara Bieniewicz [Chesterfield, Mich. / Dakota] connected from long range on the first possession of the game to give Trine the immediate lead. Albion battled back, however, and took a 9-8 advantage halfway through the first quarter.
Between a Wildman three and Sam Underhill [Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview] basket with just over one minute left in the period, nearly seven minutes of game clock had come off. Wildman hit from beyond the arc yet again to close the frame and give Trine a 13-11 lead after the first.
15 points were scored collectively from Wildman, Bieniewicz and Alyssa Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] all coming from three-point field goals to begin the second quarter. This gave the Thunder a 28-17 edge. Kelsy Taylor [Louisville, Ky. / New Albany] scored her first field goal of the game around the five-minute mark and Rachel Stewart [Pekin, Ind. / Eastern] made the halftime lead of 36-19 their largest of the half.
Trine maintained the double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game, with the Thunder matching every score Albion was able to put together. Sidney Wagner [Warsaw, Ind. / Tippecanoe Valley] scored her first points of the game in the third quarter and Underhill led the way with four points, making her only two attempts from the field in the penultimate quarter of play.
The fourth would be more of the same, with Underhill scoring five more points to put the junior in double figures for the second straight game. Wildman, Underhill and Stewart each stepped to the line in the closing stages of the game to ice the 69-56 win.
Wildman totaled 18 points, a season-high and has scored 10 or more points in seven of the last eight games. Her five makes from long range matched her personal career best. Wildman, Taylor, Underhill and Sophie Sloneker [Monroe, Ohio / Monroe] each brought in four rebounds to pace the visitors while Stewart and Alyssa Argyle notched three assists apiece.