Saint Mary's made an emphatic statement in their opening game with a 72-36 victory against Wheaton College.
The Belles (1-0) were led by junior forward Kelley Murphy, who led the team with 21 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and notched 18 rebounds to earn the double-double.
The Belles defense stifled the Thunder all day, holding Wheaton to 24 percent shooting from the field, and four players had at least three steals.
Saint Mary's led 33-24 at halftime, but it was in the second half of where the Belles put the game out of reach. They held the Thunder to just 12 points in the second half and outscored Wheaton by 27 in the final 20 minutes.
The Thunder (0-1) were led by junior Elisabeth Potts, who had 13 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action, and senior Annie Bowen, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Belles will next be in action Friday against Aurora College at the North Central College holiday tournament in Naperville, Ill.
