ALBION, Mich. – For the second time this season, Albion College was able to knock off a nationally-ranked team when the Trine University women's basketball team visited on Wednesday. The Thunder fell 63-62 after the Britons were able to take the lead on a successful out of bounds play.
Trine falls to 15-5 overall and is tied for the lead in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings with Hope College and Calvin University at 9-2 in league play. Albion advances to 13-7 on the year and 8-4 in MIAA action.
Albion got ahead by a tally of 9-2, but Sidney Wagner was able to bury a three-point field goal to counter around the halfway point in the first quarter. Free throws by Katie Tate and a make by Abby Sanner off the bench made it 11-10 after one.
Sierra Hinds gave the Thunder their first lead in the game with a made jump shot on the team's first possession, but a 6-0 run by the Britons helped thwart the comeback effort and put the home team back on top. The Albion lead was extended all the way to nine at the halfway point in the period as Head Coach Andy Rang called for time.
Wagner found Tate for a three coming out of the break, but the Britons would go up 11 at 30-19 with 90 seconds remaining in the second. Three's by Hinds and Sophie Sloneker got Trine back to within four at 31-27 at halftime.
The teams traded scores throughout the third quarter, but it was Albion who had more fire power through three quarters. The Britons went 10-of-18 from the field with five offensive rebounds to claim a 51-41 edge.
Albion was able to counter early scores by Alyssa Argyle and a timeout with 6:38 to play called for the visiting team to regroup trailing 58-47. Wagner and Tate rattled off seven straight points for the Thunder as the defense suffocated on the other end to get to within four at 58-54.
Down five with 41 seconds left, Makayla Ardis knocked down a three-point shot to get within two at 61-59. On the ensuing Albion possession, Wagner would force a jump ball to give it back to Trine. Argyle found Ardis once again from beyond the arc to give the Thunder the lead at 62-61 with six seconds left. Unfortunately, the Britons would lob one up on the backside on a side out play for an easy two that would give Albion the 63-62 victory.
Ardis, Tate, Wagner and Sanner divided points evenly amongst themselves with 12 each. With her three-point field goal in the third quarter, Ardis reached 500 points for her career. Wagner led the team in rebounds (8), assists (4) and steals (3). As a team, Trine was outrebounded 42-27 and the Britons shot 48.1% (26-for-54) from the field.
Trine looks to get back in the win column on Saturday, February 4 when Alma College comes to the MTI Center to take on the Thunder. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
