ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University women's basketball team came up short in their comeback attempt on Wednesday night against the Calvin University Knights. The final score of the game was 63-51. The win puts Calvin in sole possession of second place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings at 14-5 and 8-2 in conference play while Trine is bumped to third at 13-6 and 7-3 in the league.
A rare cold shooting night inside the MTI Center started in the first quarter when the Thunder went just 1-of-13 and fell behind 21-4 through ten minutes. A pair of free throws by Jada Rhonehouse on separate possessions was the only thing Trine had on the scoreboard until a bucket by Erin Sherwood nearly seven minutes in.
The second quarter went better for Trine as they chipped away at the early deficit. The first nine points belonged to the home team, led by Katie Tate with four during the run. Allison Capouch buried the team's first three-point field goal of the night with four minutes and change remaining in the period and cashed another one a few minutes later to get the game to within two possessions. Sydney Horton converted a layup and Addison Hutson two free throws to make the score 29-24 at the break.
Sidney Wagner converted a jump shot early in the third quarter to cut the Knights lead down to just two at 31-29, but the Thunder were never able to get over the hurdle and tie the game or secure the lead. From there, Calvin would grow the lead back up to 14 at 47-33 with just over one minute left in the third quarter. Alexis Snodgrass had some key hustle plays to get the score to 47-38 heading into the final frame.
Wagner would find her groove in the fourth quarter and the defense moving to a zone would help control things on the defensive end of the floor for Trine. The junior point guard would fire a cross-court pass to Sierra Hinds for a three to make it a one-possession game at 50-47 with four minutes to go. The Knights would answer on the next trip down the floor with a three of their own to halt momentum. Three-point plays both beyond the line and makes with fouls would extend the gap even further for Calvin and eventually bury the Thunder by a final score of 63-51.
Trine was limited to 26.2% (16-of-61) from the field and 30.8% (4-of-13) from three in the loss, their second in a row. The Thunder were outrebounded 47-39 and allowed 12 blocked shots. Tate and Wagner led the team in scoring with eight each while Rhonehouse distributed two assists and nabbed two steals.
The next game for Trine is on Saturday, January 27 when they travel to Saint Mary's College for a 1 p.m. tip-off.