Saint Mary's defeated conference foe Albion 62-47 for the first time since February 2007 and did so by a comfortable margin as the Belles closed out their regular season with a road victory, clinching the third seed in the conference tournament.
The Britons jumped out to an early 11-3 advantage due to Saint Mary's poor shooting from the field early in the game. However, about five minutes into the game, the Belles hit their first field goal and reeled off a 10-0 run to take the lead. Albion tied the score again, but Belles sophomore guard Maggie Ronan scored two of her eight points, putting the Belles in front — where they would stay the rest of the game. Saint Mary's stretched its lead to as much as 10, but the Britons continued to fight back, cutting the lead at the intermission to 26-23.
Coming out of the break, Saint Mary's methodically but quickly built up the lead with a 9-2 run out of the gate, regaining a 10-point lead and keeping at least that margin for the rest of the game.
The offensive production was spread widely across the Belles' players. Sophomore forward Jessica Centa had a solid all-around performance, posting a stat line of 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Sophomore forward Kelley Murphy had 10 points, while senior forward Anna Kammrath had nine points and led all rebounders with 14 boards.
Sophomore guard Patsy Mahoney chipped in nine points as well.
Albion shot only 30 percent from the field after its hot start thanks to the Belles' stifling defense.
With the victory, Saint Mary's earned the third spot in the MIAA tournament. The Belles will host a rematch of this game when Albion visits Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Angela Athletic Facility.
