FORT WAYNE, IND.-- Trine fell to Division-I foe IPFW, 99-61 Tuesday night at Gates Sports Center.
The Mastodons outscored the Thunder 54-18 in the paint and shot 57 percent from the field (36-of-69). Keanna Gray came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points to lead IPFW, knocking down 11-of-14 attempts from the field. Kamilah Carter added 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Whitney Shaffer (Tipton, Ind./Tri-Central) led three Trine players in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. IPFW is the second Division-I opponent the Thunder have faced this season. Prior to this year, Trine had not faced a Division-I opponent in a regular-season game. The Thunder fall to 7-4 overall. The Mastodons improve to 6-7.
Ashley Elliott (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) and Nikky Moan (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) each added 10 points for the Thunder. Elliott connected on 3-of-5 from the field, while Moan added six rebounds. Kyleigh Hampton (Wabash, Ind//Wabash) came off the bench to tie a career-high with seven points.
Haley Siebert added 12 points, while Allyson Bunch notched 11 points for IPFW. Courtney Ogle and Brett Green rounded out the six Mastodons in double-figures with 10 points apiece. IPFW connected on 8-of-12 three-point attempts (67 percent) and outrebounded Trine by a 45-27 margin. The Mastodon bench outscored their Trine counterparts, 54-29.
The Thunder battled tough through the first six minutes, and actually scored the first five points of the contest on a Kayla Dunn (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) jumper and a three by Shaffer. Dunn scored six points in the first 5:42 before the Mastodons began to take control.
Gray took over the rest of the half, as she came off the bench to score 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting prior to halftime. After a Dunn bucket cut the score to 12-11, the Mastodons outscored Trine by a 38-16 margin the rest of the first half. Paced by Gray, IPFW held a 24-6 edge in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
Elliott provided a spark in the second half for the Thunder, scoring eight of her points after the break. Shaffer also scored eight points after the break.
Trine returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 3 when they host Albion in MIAA-action. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m., or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the preceding men's game.