Despite leading for almost the entire second half, Saint Mary's lost a nail-biter Wednesday night at home to Adrian, 63-59.
Adrian (5-13, 4-6 MIAA) held a narrow lead for most of the first half, until an 8-0 Belles run gave Saint Mary's (5-14, 3-7 MIAA) a 23-21 lead with five minutes to go in the opening half.
The Belles would hold that lead until halftime, going into the break leading 31-29.
Multiple times throughout the second half the Belles looked as though they would pull away. Four times they went up by seven points and every time, the Bulldogs closed the gap to a single point.
Turnovers again were the Belles' downfall. With just over four minutes left, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game on a fastbreak layup off an errant pass by the Belles.
"You can't turn the ball over as much as we did tonight and win," Saint Mary's coach Jenn Hensley said.
The team committed 23 turnovers, seven in the last five minutes of the game.
The Belles would cut the lead to two twice in the last 1:30, but key defensive stops and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch by the Bulldogs kept their lead intact and gave them the four-point victory.
Despite the crushing loss, there certainly were bright spots for Saint Mary's. Junior guard Shanlynn Bias led all scorers with 18 points, and Hensley was especially pleased with her play in transition, noting it was something the team would continue looking to in the next few games.
Freshman forward Eleni Shea added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Belles, her second career collegiate double-double. Junior forward Katherine Wabler was the only other Belle in double figures, narrowly missing out on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Belles will look to rebound from the tough loss when they take on Kalamazoo at home Saturday. Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m.at the Angela Athletic Center.
Contact AJ Godeaux at
agodeaux@nd.edu
