ANGOLA, Ind. – In the final game of the 2023 Cameron Hospital Classic, the Trine University women's basketball team came up short 65-59 against Wittenberg University on Sunday. The loss is the first of the year for the Thunder as they are now 2-1 overall. The Tigers are unbeaten at 3-0.

Wittenberg got extra shot opportunities with 16 offensive rebounds and they made the most of those considering the shooting woes on both sides. In total, Wittenberg held an 18-2 advantage on second chance points. Trine shot just 37.3% from the field at 22-of-59. The team was also 8-of-24 (33.3%) from long range. On the other side, the Tigers were successful on 26 of their 66 total shots on the night.

The trio of Sierra Hinds, Katie Tate and Sidney Wagner combined for 13 of the 17 first quarter points for the Thunder as they started the game well up 17-11. Trine was able to force six turnovers in the opening frame to jump out to the lead.

Abby Sanner extended the lead further with a basket on the first possession of quarter number two, however an 11-2 scoring run for the visitors gave them the lead at 22-21 with just over three minutes left in the half. Sanner and Erin Sherwood were fouled frequently late in the period and went to the charity stripe to get the Thunder back in front 30-28 through 20 minutes.

Points were hard to come by coming out of the locker room as a three-point make by Hinds were the only Trine points in the first three minutes. In that time, Wittenberg reclaimed the lead at 34-33. Wagner and Jada Rhonehouse got in on the three-point shooting with one make apiece, but the Tigers showed they had the legs to go the full 40 minutes in the contest and the visitors led 47-41 at the end of the third.

The lead grew to as many as eight at 53-45 in favor of Wittenberg with under seven minutes to play, but back-to-back field goals by Wagner brought the Thunder back to within four. Sherwood would find her for three a few possessions later to make it a one-possession game at 55-52. This time it would be Sherwood to score twice as the sophomore gave Trine the lead once again at 56-55 with 3:35 on the clock.

Over the final few minutes, the Tigers struck for seven consecutive points to go up 62-56 with less than one minute to go from the MTI Center. A foul by the Thunder resulted in two more points for Wittenberg, but Hinds kept the home team within striking distance with a made three. Unfortunately, Trine was unsuccessful on their last three shot attempts from beyond the arc and fell 65-59.

Thanks to 12 second half points, Wagner was the team's leading scorer with 19 points. Hinds was the only other Thunder player with double figures after scoring 13 points on four treys. Sanner (9) and Tate (7) were the team's leading rebounders.

Trine hits the road for the first time this season in their next game. The Thunder will travel to Ada, Ohio to take on #10 Ohio Northern University on Saturday, November 25 at 2 p.m.