Saint Mary’s fell 48-36 Wednesday night on the road against Benedictine after hitting a second-half dry spell.
The Belles (0-7, 0-1 MIAA) trailed by seven after the first quarter, and after scoring only four points in the third quarter they were unable to make a comeback.
Belles head coach Jennifer Henley praised her defense, but she said the Belles’ inability to score following halftime eventually doomed the team.
“I thought we did a great job defensively [Wednesday] night,” Henley said. “Our offense went cold in the third quarter, and we struggled to overcome that.”
The Belles were lead by senior captain and forward Krista Knapke who had 12 points and six rebounds on the game. Fellow captain and senior guard Maddie Kohler had seven points, four rebounds and four assists while sophomore forward Gabby Diamond chipped in another six points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Junior forward Kelsey Ronan also contributed in the losing effort with five points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Saint Mary’s went 14-of-57 (24.6 percent) on field goals, compared to Benedictine’s 21-for-58 (36.2 percent). Benedictine also held a 44-38 advantage in rebounds, including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive boards, but Saint Mary’s went a perfect 6-for-6 on free throws. The Belles never led in the contest, as ties at 2-2, 4-4 and 8-8 in the opening minutes of the first quarter were the closest the Belles came to holding the advantage.
The Belles have their second conference game at Calvin on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Knights are currently 5-1 and have scored more than 80 points in each of their games this season.
