HOLLAND, Mich. – The Trine University women's basketball team was able to conquer #1 Hope College on their home floor for the second consecutive season on Saturday afternoon by a score of 76-64. Sophomore Sidney Wagner netted a career-high 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the game, and contributed four rebounds and six assists in a dominant performance.
Despite a wide margin in the rebound battle (44-35 in favor of the Flying Dutch), the Thunder held Hope to 29.4% (20-of-68) from the field and made 28 of their own 57 attempts to seal the victory.
Trine, who entered play ranked #16 in the country, advances to 7-2 overall and is now 4-0 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). The defending national champion Flying Dutch suffer their first loss of the season at 9-1 and 2-1 in league play.
Action began fast and furious with a basket by Wagner and she distributed an assist to senior Makayla Ardis for a three-point make in the opening minute. Freshman Abby Sanner and senior Alyssa Argyle joined in on the scoring mid-period to go up 12-9. Sophomore Sierra Hinds knocked down a three as well to give the visitors a 15-12 lead, but a scoring drought of nearly four minutes allowed the Dutch to pick up momentum. Sanner added a layup just before the buzzer in a 17-16 first quarter.
The close game continued through quarter number two as the Thunder took a 31-28 lead into halftime. Wagner dominated the period with 10 of the team's 14 points, including a three-point make as well as an and-one. Senior Katie Sloneker entered the scoring column with a pair of made field goals and connected with Wagner twice for assists.
A monster third quarter for Trine started with an and-one by senior Sam Underhill. The Thunder scored on seven of the team's first eight possessions to claim their first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 47-35 and forced Hope to call a timeout at the 5:30 mark. Wagner strung together back-to-back three-point plays to further extend the lead. Ardis and Hinds helped make it five makes in nine attempts from deep in a 31-17 third quarter.
The Flying Dutch would win the fourth quarter 19-14, but the Thunder had already put themselves in excellent position for the win by that point. Ardis buried her fourth shot from beyond the arc two minutes in to go up 67-50 at the proceeding timeout. Hope did not go down without a fight, however, and cut their deficit down to as little as seven with 1:24 to play. Free throw makes by Wagner, Argyle and Hinds aided in the upset bid, 76-64.
Along with Wagner's 29 points, Ardis had four makes from distance to get her to 12 points, a season-high. Sanner, Argyle and Ardis all shares the team lead with six rebounds each.
It is a quick turnaround for Trine as they travel to St. Petersburg, Florida to compete in the 2022 Basketball Destinations Classic at Eckerd College. The Thunder will take on North Park University in their opening game on Monday, December 19 beginning at 5 p.m.