ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's basketball team was victorious 97-39 over the number eight seed in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), Kalamazoo College. With their 15th consecutive victory, the Thunder advance to the MIAA Semifinal Round on Friday, February 25.
The 58-point win came with a dominant performance on both ends of the floor. The number one seed held the opposition to just 28.3% (13-for-46) from the floor and forced 26 turnovers. 20 of those turnovers were live ball steals. The Thunder also cleaned the glass with a 52-31 rebounding advantage, a season-high 29 coming on the offensive end.
Prior to tip-off, seniors Tara Bieniewicz [Chesterfield, Mich. / Dakota] and Kayla Wildman [Rockford, Mich. / Rockford] were honored for being named First Team All-MIAA, as well as Kelsy Taylor [Louisville, Ky. / New Albany] after garnering Second Team accolades.
The first five Trine possessions resulted in makes, with Taylor crashing the boards twice. Kayla Wildman [Rockford, Mich. / Rockford] knocked down a pair of shots from long range and Katie Sloneker [Monroe, Ohio / Monroe] hit three-of-four from the charity stripe to go up 13-3.
Sam Underhill [Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview] completed a 12-0 scoring run with a make from the baseline six minutes into play. Rachel Stewart [Pekin, Ind. / Eastern] and Brooke Brauher [Big Rapids, Mich. / Morley Stanwood] also scored late in the frame to make it a 27-6 first quarter.
Bieniewicz hit from deep early in the second quarter to give Trine more than a 20-point edge and the lead continued to grow later in the frame. Makayla Ardis [Lake City, Mich. / Lake City] connected on a pair of jump shots to give her four first half points and a team-high plus-minus of 19 in the first half.
Heading into recess, the Thunder held a commanding 48-19 lead, with 22 of those coming off of Hornet miscues. Trine had five first half turnovers, with Kalamazoo not able to score on any of them.
The Hornets began the third with an and-one, but from there, the home team was able to net the next eight, including a score apiece by the trio of all-conference players. Wildman knocked down a three and followed it up with a steal-and-score to spark a 13-0 landslide. Bieniewicz was the beneficiary of passing by Kaylee Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] and Wildman for three on consecutive possessions during the streak.
Sidney Wagner [Warsaw, Ind. / Tippecanoe Valley] made her presence felt in the third quarter with five points, including a big time three to drain the life out of the Kalamazoo defense. Sophie Sloneker [Monroe, Ohio / Monroe] picked off a pass and took it the other way on the fast break for two and hit a three a few possessions later in a 31-8 third quarter. The top seed in the MIAA led 79-27 with 10 minutes to play.
The freshman unit got most of the time in the fourth, with Sierra Hinds [Carmel, Ind. / University], Kearston Stout [Wabash, Ind. / Northfield], Tiana Maat [Victoria, BC, Canada / Belmont Secondary] and Macayla McGowan [New Castle, Ind. / New Castle] each getting points to reach the 97-39 final.
Overall, Trine outscored Kalamazoo 48-3 off of turnovers, 30-8 in the paint, 29-7 on second chances, 27-2 on fast breaks and 52-3 off the bench. Wildman was the leading scorer at 18 points. She also tied Kaylee Argyle for the team lead with four steals. Taylor led the way in rebounds with seven, but McGowan and Wagner each pulled down six from the guard spot.
The senior guard Wildman had this to say postgame, "We always say take things one game at a time, focus on the opponent that's in front of us. We can't look passed any opponent. We never settle – we always focus on what we can do better."
In the MIAA Semifinal Round, Trine will play host to the five seed Alma College after the Scots defeated Albion College in overtime 78-74 tonight. That game will tip-off at 7 pm inside MTI Center.