ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's basketball team defeated The University of Olivet in the First Round of the 2024 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night by a score of 70-45. The three-seed Thunder had to overcome serious shooting woes in the first half to pull away to a sizeable victory.
The victory puts Trine at 19-7 overall this season. The year for Olivet comes to an end at a mark of 9-17. The Thunder outscored their opponents 47-24 in the second half alone and won the rebounding battle 45-28, scored 25 points off turnovers compared to just nine for the Comets, netted 13 second chance points and won the paint to the tune of 36-16.
Abby Sanner started the game strong on the offensive glass and a pair of field goals, but it was Olivet that took an early lead at 9-6. Sierra Hinds countered with a three-point field goal to even the score and fuel a 10-2 run to close the period. Sydney Horton and Allison Capouch scored their first points of the night during the run to make it 16-11 Thunder after ten minutes.
Sidney Wagner connected on a jump shot early in the second quarter, but Trine went scoreless until 3:43 to play in the period and fell behind 21-18 in that time. A layup by Jada Rhonehouse and two makes from the charity stripe by Alexis Snodgrass allowed Trine to go into halftime with a two-point lead, 23-21.
The Comets would remain in the game at 31-30 Thunder with 5:53 remaining in the quarter when Head Coach Andy Rang used a timeout to calm his squad. Erin Sherwood and Wagner would lead a charge at the free throw line for a 10-1 scoring spree that got the lead up to double digits at 41-31. After cutting the lead back down to five, scores on the final three offensive possessions for Trine elevated the lead to 49-36.
The fourth quarter was dominated by the Thunder from start to finish to make the final score look like the game was not as close as it was. A 21-9 period was highlighted by ten points from Hinds, including two makes from deep and she added four steals defensively in the fourth quarter alone. The final tally would read 70-45.
The defense forced 31 Olivet turnovers and just 15 made field goals. Trine shot 41.7% (25-for-60) from the field and were held to 5-of-25 from beyond the three-point line. Wagner led all scorers with 18 points, and she added a team-high six steals as well. Hinds contributed with 13 points, a team-high eight rebounds and five steals. 20 steals is a season-high.
The Thunder move on to the MIAA Tournament Semifinals where the two-seed Calvin University awaits Trine on a neutral floor at Hope College. That game will be the first of the night in Holland as Hope takes on Albion College in the other side of the bracket. Tip-off for Calvin versus Trine will be at 5:30 p.m.