Saint Mary's has defined mediocrity through the first seven games of this season, while Albion College has defined dominance. In a MIAA conference match-up tonight, the Belles of Saint Mary's will be visited by an eager Albion College, who, up to this point in the season, have looked unstoppable.
Coming off a weekend tournament at home, the Belles (3-4) look to carry their 82-67 win over Illinois College rather than their tough 68-45 loss to Washington University into tonight's game in order to knock off the 7-0 Albion.
Saint Mary's has looked very inconsistent this year. At times they have been overpowering, blowing out Andrews 72-26. In this game, the Belles were able to rest their starters and rely heavily on bench players in this lopsided win. On other occasions, the Belles have looked weak, as shown in their 23-point loss to Washington following an impressive victory the night before. This inconsistency is something that needs to be addressed before heading into tonight's game.
Saint Mary's will need to play its finest brand of basketball in order to knock off the hot opponents. Leading scorer, Emily Creachbaum, averaging 11.3 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per contest will especially need to step up. In last weekend's win over Illinois College, Creachbaum had 10 points in 18 minutes. Maureen Bush will also need to continue to contribute on the glass, as she leads the team in rebounds with 5.3 a game.
Albion has proved to be tough to beat this year, already beating opponents by 20 or more points three times this season. In a Nov. 25 contest against Rochester, Albion won 83-40, its largest victory margin of the season.
Albion is lead by Sarah Caskey, who averages 16.1 points per game, 4.0 rebounds a game and nearly 5 assists per game. She shoots 48.8 percent from 3-point range and .857 from the line. Caskey scored 25 points in an 85-69 win over Goshen on Dec. 2. Ruthie Sventickas is a solid second option, averaging 10.7 points in 20.6 minutes per game. The play of these two players in particular could be important in determining the outcome of tonight's game.
Winning this game would allow Saint Mary's to move to .500.
The teams will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Saint Mary's.
