Saint Mary’s staged a furious rally against conference opponent Albion on Saturday at Angela Athletic Facility. However, it was not enough as the Brits (10-6, 4-4 MIAA) won a nail-biter by a score of 76-73.
The Belles (3-13, 1-6) took an early lead, scoring the first two baskets of the game. Saint Mary's held a 15-11 advantage with 13 minutes left in the first half before the Brits went on a 10-6 run to tie the game at 21-21. After trading leads and baskets the rest of the half, the Brits went into the locker room with a 37-32 lead at halftime.
Albion scored the first six points of the second half to take a 43-32 lead. Junior forwards Eleni Shea and Krista Knapke and freshman forward Molly Robinson scored the next eight points of the game to pull the Belles back within three with 16 minutes left in the game.
Whenever Albion went on a run, the Belles answered right back. Over the next seven minutes, Saint Mary's cut the Albion lead to three points five different times. After back and forth scoring by both teams, the Belles made it a one-point game at 58-57 with 6:46 left in the game.
The Brits then went on a 10-2 run to pull ahead 68-59 with 2:14 left to play, but the Belles scored the next four points to pull within five with just over a minute and a half to go. After a defensive stop, junior guard Maddie Kohler was able to finish on a fast-break and make it a three-point game at 68-65 with 1:11 left in the game.
Albion then made a pair of free throws to extend its lead back to five with under a minute to go. The Belles went right down the court to pull back within three with 32 seconds left, but Albion scored four of the next five points to hold a 74-68 lead with 17 seconds left.
Junior guard Sarah Macius made two free throws to pull the Belles within four. After getting a steal and calling timeout, the Belles hit a 3-pointer to pull within one with two seconds left. Saint Mary's then had to foul on the ensuing inbound play and the Brits made both free throws to go ahead 76-73. Koehler attempted a last-second, half-court shot, but it came up short.
Saint Mary's senior guard Ariana Paul picked up her sixth double-double of the year, pulling down 14 rebounds to go with her 16 points and five steals. Knapke, Kohler, Shea and Robinson also all reached double figures with 10 points apiece.
The Belles’ next game is Wednesday, Jan. 21, when they host conference foe Olivet at 7:30 p.m. at Angela Athletic Facility.
