Saint Mary's dropped a tough decision Wednesday night, losing to host Adrian by a score of 66-58.
The loss marked the first conference defeat for Saint Mary's (2-4, 0-1 MIAA) this season, which dropped the decision despite outshooting the hosts from the floor.
Saint Mary's started the game strong, jumping out to an early four-point lead just a minute into the game. From that point on, the teams traded leads, with the Belles up 14-13 with 6:41 remaining in the first half.
This would be the final lead of the game for Saint Mary's, as the Bulldogs (1-3, 1-0) used a 15-0 scoring run to knock the game open. They took a 12-point advantage into the half, leading 29-17.
The hosts continued their strong play into the second half, taking a 16-point lead, their largest of the game, with 15:16 remaining in the contest.
The Belles slowly chipped away at Adrian's lead, and eventually cut the deficit to four points on a jumper by freshman forward Eleni Shea with 5:37 left in the game and again on a lay-up from freshman guard Bernadette Jordan with 3:57 left in the game.
Unfortunately for the Belles, that would be as close as they came, as Adrian used a combination of timely shots and clutch free throws to close out the game with an eight-point cushion.
Adrian caused 22 Saint Mary's turnovers and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds on the way to their victory.
Junior guard Shanlynn Bias led the Belles in scoring with 20 points. Shea and sophomore forward Ariana Paul chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds each, while freshman guard Sarah Macius chipped in 10 points off the bench for the visitors.
Saint Mary's will next take on conference foe Olivet when the Tigers visit South Bend on Saturday at 3 p.m.
