ADRIAN, MICH. -- Junior Kayla Wildman (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) helped lead the Trine University women's basketball team to a 68-43 win against Adrian (Mich.) College behind a season-high 19 points in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association matchup in Adrian, Mich.
Wildman shot seven-of-15 (46.7 percent) from the floor and went four-of-10 (40.0 percent) from three-point range. Sophomore Sam Underhill (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) was second in scoring with 15 points and also had nine rebounds. Fellow junior Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterfield, Mich./Dakota) rounded out the high scorers with 12 points, all of which came from behind the arc on four-of-nine shooting (44.4 percent).
Senior Shay Herbert (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) had a big day on the glass with a game-tying and career-tying high 11 rebounds.
Trine (11-1, 5-0 MIAA) began the game on an 18-4 scoring run to take control early. Adrian (5-10, 2-2 MIAA) then responded by outscoring the Thunder, 7-1, to cut the deficit to single digits by a margin of 19-11, with 1:27 to go in the first quarter. The Bulldogs made it a seven-point game with under a minute to go, but a three-pointer by sophomore Alyssa Argyle (Freeland, Mich./Freeland) ended the scoring in the period for both teams and increased the Trine lead back to double figures, 24-14.
Following a pair of Adrian free-throws to start the second quarter, Bieniewicz connected on a three-pointer on Trine's first offensive possession which began a streak of eight unanswered points to grab a 16-point lead, 32-16, with 5:46 to go in the half. About two minutes later, a layup by Underhill equaled the Thunder's 16 point margin and was also the start of a 8-2 run to end the half and resulted in a 20-point lead at the break, 40-20.
Trine outscored Adrian, 7-1, in the first three minutes of the third quarter that resulted in a 26-point ball game, 47-21, following another layup by Underhill. Adrian gained a little ground by outscoring Trine, 17-8, to end the quarter, but the Thunder still boasted a 17-point advantage, 55-38, going into the fourth frame.
In the fourth quarter, Trine held Adrian to just five points. Three of those points came at the onset of the period thanks to a triple to narrow the gap to 14 points, 55-41. The Thunder then scored 11 straight points which ended in one-of-two free-throws by freshman Chelsi Giesige (Paulding, Ohio/Paulding), and put the game out of reach with Trine leading, 66-41, with a little under two-and-a-half minutes remaining. After an Adrian layup, freshman Malia Williams (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) capped the scoring with a layup at the 1:17 mark as Trine went to win by the final of 68-43.
Trine is scheduled to host Hope (Mich.) College on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the MTI Center. The MIAA contest is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.