ALBION, Mich. – For the second straight season, the Trine University women's basketball team struggled at Albion College and came up short in the matchup. The Britons were able to knock off the Thunder in a low-scoring affair, 48-38. Trine is now 13-5 overall and 7-2 inside the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) while Albion is 11-7 and 5-4 inside the conference.
The Thunder could never get going on offense and shot 12-of-49 (24.5%) from the field and 3-of-24 (12.5%) from beyond the arc. The visitors were able to force 24 turnovers by the Britons, but scored just 15 points off miscues. Albion cleaned the glass well and won the rebounding battle 54-26.
Trine fell behind early and could only muster up two points in the opening quarter. The Thunder were 1-for-10 from the field, the only make coming from Jada Rhonehouse. After 10 minutes, the Thunder were down 10-2.
Abby Sanner scored on the opening possession of the second quarter for their best offensive period of the day with 18 points to draw within one at halftime. A timeout with 6:56 to play in the half fueled the only real scoring run of the day. Addison Hutson buried a three to start a 12-2 run with a pair of three-point field goals from Allison Capouch. Allie Walther converted a field goal attempt with one minute left to go into halftime at 21-20, Britons.
A pair of free throws by Sidney Wagner early in the third quarter gave the Thunder a small lead, but an immediate response by Albion allowed the home team to retake the lead. Erin Sherwood got on the board late in the period, but Trine was behind by eight heading into the closing stretch of the game.
The Britons netted the first six points of the fourth quarter to suck the wind out of the Thunder sails and thwarted a potential comeback. Tiana Maat had four points in the fourth quarter, but another dry spell on offense in the final minutes allowed Albion to sneak away with the 48-38 victory.
Wagner was the team leader in scoring with seven points. Rhonehouse secured a team-high seven rebounds. Hutson distributed three of the team's six assists in the game.
Trine returns home on Wednesday, January 24 for a contest against the Calvin University Knights. Tip-off at the MTI Center will begin at 7:30 p.m.