Belles fall to Comets in final home game of season

Saint Mary’s could not hang with MIAA power No. 18 Olivet on Wednesday as the Comets left the Angela Athletic Center with an 89-72 win.

The Belles (7-17, 5-10 MIAA) dug themselves an early hole , shooting only 32.3 percent in the first half. The Comets (21-3, 13-2) fed junior center Stefanie Lang early and often, as the 6-foot-4 junior put up 18 points in the first half on 8-11 shooting. The Comets shot 52.8 percent in the first half on the way to a 43-25 halftime lead.

The Belles came out strong after halftime, keeping pace with the Comets throughout the second half. Saint Mary’s outscored Olivet 47-46 in the second half and shot 55.6 percent from the field in the period. The Comets never let their lead dwindle to less than 12, though, as Lang continued her strong play. Olivet’s leading scorer for the night finished the game with a dominating 30 points on 14-21 shooting, also adding 17 rebounds in just 25 minutes.

In her final home game in a Saint Mary’s uniform, senior guard Shanlynn Bias scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Belles, 18 of which came in the second half. Junior forward Ariana Paul added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Belles, and was the only other Belle to score in double figures.

The Belles shot 44.8 percent from the field for the game, going 20-36 in the second half to recover from their poor offensive first half. The Belles’ 13 turnovers were just one more than their season low.

Saint Mary’s concludes its season Saturday with an away matchup at Albion at 3:00 p.m.