Albion College defeated Saint Mary's 77-58 Wednesday at Kresge Gymnasium in Albion, Mich. The Britons used terrific perimeter shooting to go along with a strong inside game to win the MIAA showdown.
Saint Mary's fell to 11-13 overall and 9-6 in conference play as Albion improved to 16-8 overall and 8-7 against MIAA opponents.
Albion jumped out to an early lead, making 8-of-12 first half three-point attempts. The Belles, on the other hand, could hit just 25 percent of their total field goal attempts before the half. Saint Mary's was also outrebounded 42-32 and outscored 32-14 in the paint. Albion led 40-20 at halftime and never let the Belles back in the game.
"We just played with zero confidence after their fast start," Saint Mary's head coach Steve Bender said.
During the second period, the Belles were never able to cut the deficit to fewer than 19 points, which turned out to be the final margin.
Saint Mary's senior captain Bridget Boyce did reach several significant milestones and was the lone bright spot for the team, as she scored 16 points to bring her career tally to over 1,000 - becoming just the sixth Belles player to reach that mark. Boyce has one regular season game remaining to increase her total.
Boyce also hit her 128th career three-pointer, which ties Julie Radke for most career three-point field goals in school history.
Albion was led by center Katie Elder, who recorded 12 points and seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of playing time. Forward Megan Garvey also added 12 points and guard Kellyn Glynn chipped in 11 to round out the double-digit scorers for Albion.
Forward Erin Newsom scored 12 for the Belles.
Saint Mary's now sits in third place in the MIAA standings with one regular season game left to play.
The Belles head to Hope College on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
Most likely, the Belles will face Albion again in the first round of the conference tournament Feb. 21.
"We want to send a message out that we're already looking forward to that game. We're glad they had their great game tonight," Bender said.
