HOLLAND, MICH. -- Junior Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) scored a game-high 25 points and became the 13th member of the 1,000-point club in Trine women's basketball history as the No. 11 nationally-ranked Thunder upset No. 2 ranked, and undefeated, Hope (Mich.) College, 58-55, in Holland, Mich.
Dawson entered today's game needing just two points to reach 1,000 for her career and with her 25 points this afternoon, she now has 1,023 total points in nearly three complete seasons at Trine. The 2016-17 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association "Most Valuable Player" and D3hoops.com All-American, is averaging 14.0 points per game in 73 career games with the Thunder.
In addition to Dawson, senior Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) also played a big role for the Thunder in the win against Hope with her second double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior Cassidy Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) and sophomore Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) had big games setting up the offense with Williams tallying a game-high six assists and Steers adding five helpers.
Despite the close finish, the lead changed hands between the two teams only twice for the game. Dawson scored her 1,000th career point early in the first quarter that gave Trine (18-2, 10-1 MIAA) the lead and sparked an 8-0 scoring run that put the Thunder ahead by five points, 8-3, at the 7:13 mark.
Trine went on to lead by as many as seven points on two occasions with the last one being a 14-7 advantage with 1:41 left following a layup by senior Kayla Freeman (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Central). The layup by Freeman was the final points scored by either team the remainder of the quarter as the Thunder took their seven-point margin into the second period.
The Thunder continued to pull away in period number two and posted their first double-digit lead with 7:48 to go in the half thanks to a jumper by Hayley Martin that made the score, 20-9. Hope (18-1, 9-1 MIAA) cut the deficit to single digits, 21-13, with a little over five minutes to go, but Trine ended the half by outscoring the Flying Dutch, 7-1, to post its largest lead to that point with a halftime score of 28-14.
Hope began the third quarter with an 8-2 run to get to within eight points once again, 30-22, when Trine responded with a 7-0 run of its own which ended in a jumper by Dawson and resulted in the Thunder's largest lead of the game of 15 points, 37-22, with 5:44 to go in the frame. Trine held on to a double-digit edge the rest of the quarter and had a 12-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Dutch ended up outscoring the Thunder, 22-13, in the fourth quarter and trailed by double figures for the majority of the period. Trailing by 13 points with 4:27 remaining, Hope made its move with a 13-2 run and made it a one-possession game, 54-52, with 35 seconds left in regulation. Back-to-back free-throws by Haley Martin, followed by another free-throw by Steers, extended the margin to five points, 57-52, with just seconds on the clock. An ensuing three-pointer by Hope gave the home team life, trailing by just a basket, 57-55. Steers then converted one-of-two freebies to make it a three-point game, 58-55, with a second to go. Hope could not get a final shot off to tie the game before the final buzzer sounded as the Thunder hung on for the 58-55 upset.
Hope had one player score in double figures in Kenedy Schoonveld with 24 points.
Trine will conclude its mini road trip on Wednesday, Jan. 31 when the Thunder travel to Olivet, Mich. for a MIAA contest against Olivet College. The game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m.
