Coming off a tough 87-63 loss to Olivet last Saturday, Saint Mary's looks to regain its footing with a win against Adrian on Wednesday night.
The Belles (5-13, 3-6 MIAA) fell behind quickly after an initial lead in the first half against the Comets (12-6, 7-2), who took the reins of the game with three consecutive three-pointers. Despite their efforts to gain a lead, the Belles could not find a way to dig themselves out of the hole. Saint Mary's coach Jennifer Henley said the team can learn a lot from this loss and has room for improvement.
"I am disappointed with our lack of rebounding against Olivet," Henley said. "I thought our rebounding effort was lacking."
Despite the loss and disappointment in rebounding, several individual members of the Belles squad did experience great success on the court. Junior forward Katherine Wabler earned career-high marks with 13 points, four steals and six rebounds. Freshman forward Krista Knapke scored 13 points, while junior guard Shanlynn Bias and freshman guard Bernadette Jordan added eight points each for the Belles.
Even with two straight losses, Saint Mary's is fully prepared mentally and physically to take on Adrian (4-13, 3-6), Henley said.
"Win or lose, we very quickly turn our focus to the next opponent," Henley said. "Certainly no one likes to lose, but we learn from it and move on."
Adrian enters the game against Saint Mary's coming off a loss, as well. The Bulldogs lost 67-58 to Albion (5-12, 3-6) this past Saturday. Despite a similar record, Henley said records never really tell the story of a team.
"You can't take anyone for granted," Henley said. "We still prepare the same way despite who we are playing."
The Belles still look to maintain their heavily defensive-based strategy against the Bulldogs, Henley said.
Saint Mary's will play Adrian on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Angela Athletic Facility.
Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu
