Despite giving a strong effort in the second half, the Belles were unable to overcome a strong opening period from Adrian, losing 80-70 on the road in what was the first conference matchup for both schools. The loss for the Belles (2-5, 0-1 MIAA) is the fourth in five games, while the victory for the Bulldogs (3-3, 1-0 MIAA) snaps a two-game losing streak.
The Belles had a number of strong offensive showings, with sophomore forward Eleni Shea scoring a team-high and career-high 17 points along with seven rebounds, while senior guard Shanlynn Bias added 17 points and a career-high eight boards. Sophomore forward Krista Knapp added 12 points while junior forward Ariana Paul chipped in with 11 points. Knapp and Paul were also strong presences on the boards as well, as each player grabbed seven rebounds each.
Despite a 45-32 rebounding edge over the Bulldogs, the Belles were unable to capitalize on Adrian's 15 turnovers, scoring only nine points off of Bulldog giveaways. By contrast, the Bulldogs forced 25 Belle turnovers and added 22 points as a result, proving to be the difference in the game.
The Belles were also limited offensively as they were held without a three-point shot for the entire game. Adrian hit on six attempts from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Antoinea McElroy, who came up with 17 points on eight of twenty shooting, led Adrian offensively. Elsewhere, the Bulldogs were helped by freshman guard Marissa Cotton's 11 points and senior guards LaQwana Dockery and Lauren Rhodes, who each added 10. Dockery also had a team-high six rebounds.
The first few minutes of the game saw both teams trade baskets back and forth, with the score tied at 18 through the first nine minutes of play. However, within the final five minutes of the period the Bulldogs went on a tear, scoring the last six points of the half to enter halftime with a 45-33 lead.
The Belles came out strong to start the second half. Over the first 8:21 of the period, the Belles outscored the Bulldogs by a 17-6 margin, and pulled within a point at 51-50. However, the Bulldogs would push their lead to ten points in the final two minutes of the game, holding on to win by that same margin.
The Belles will resume play with a match-up at home against North Central on Saturday. The game begins at 3 p.m.
