OLIVET, Mich. – The Trine University women's basketball team defeated Olivet College by a score of 76-33 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) action on Saturday afternoon.
The Thunder (15-2, 8-1 MIAA) win their seventh consecutive game and send the Comets (2-16, 0-10 MIAA) to their ninth straight loss.
Olivet kept pace with Trine in the early goings and matched the scoring of Kelsy Taylor [Louisville, Ky. / New Albany] and Tara Bieniewicz [Chesterfield, Mich. / Dakota]. It was an 8-8 tie after three minutes of play with all eight points scored by those two student-athletes.
From there, it was all Thunder. Trine kept the Comets off the scoreboard for the final seven minutes of the first quarter and scored 18 in a row to take a 24-8 lead into the first quarter break. Sidney Wagner [Warsaw, Ind. / Tippecanoe Valley] had seven points off the bench in the first and assisted on three more baskets. Taylor scored the first points of the second to complete the 20-0 scoring spurt.
Olivet would break the scoring drought with 7:38 left in the second period after going nearly 10 minutes without a point, but the Thunder had already jumped out to a 26-10 advantage. The Comets remained even with Trine through the first five minutes as both teams were having trouble getting shots to fall. That forced head coach Andy Rang to take a timeout.
Sam Underhill [Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview] would have the only scores over the next five minutes before Rachel Stewart [Pekin, Ind. / Eastern] netted her first shot of the day in the closing seconds of the first half to go into recess up 34-17. Trine forced Olivet into 17 first half miscues and took advantage of 10 offensive rebounds.
A Kayla Wildman [Rockford, Mich. / Rockford] and-one capped off a 10-0 run to begin half number two with the Thunder in front 44-17. Following the first Comet field goal in the third at 4:25, Bieniewicz topped that with a three-point make from the top of the key to make it 47-19. The lead grew to 30 on an Alyssa Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] make from close range a few moments later.
Olivet was held to just six points in the third quarter and a Wildman three-ball at the buzzer made it 54-23. Bieniewicz would continue to balloon the lead with a three-point field goal on the first possession of the fourth quarter. That would lead to a 12-2 run to take a 41-point edge, 66-25.
Macayla McGowan [New Castle, Ind. / New Castle], Tiana Maat [Victoria, BC, Canada / Belmont Secondary] and Kiley Williams [Avon, Ohio / Avon] all hit one shot at the free throw line in the closing minutes of a 76-33 win and Emma Hoover [Wabash, Ind. / Northfield] buried a three to give Trine their largest lead of the game.
Bieniewicz led the way with 18 points and Wildman (12) and Taylor (11) were also in double figures. Taylor led in rebounds with eight and Wagner distributed four assists. As a team, the Thunder forced 33 Olivet turnovers, the most in a game this season. Trine also held a 44-26 advantage on the boards.
Up next on the schedule for the Trine women's basketball team is a home makeup contest versus Kalamazoo College on Monday, January 31. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm.