Saint Mary's extended its winning streak to three against Monmouth College Sunday with a 69-54 win.
The Belles opened up an insurmountable 13-point halftime cushion and comfortably coasted to a 15-point victory over the Fighting Scots.
Bridget Boyce had a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from three-point land. Maureen Bush snagged 11 rebounds for the Belles, and Brigdet Lipke netted 12 points.
Saint Mary's shot 64 percent from the floor in the opening half, including 3-of-4 from long distance.
The win put the Belles over .500 for the first time in more than three years, as they are now 3-2.
Saint Mary's 60, Knox 43
The Belles faced Knox College in the opening game of the Pizza Hut-Econofoods Classic on Sunday, and Saint Mary's used all of its players in its 60-43 win.
Lipke and Bridget Boyce paved the way for the Belles, scoring 15 points apiece. Emily Creachbaum added 14 points and seven rebounds.
A stingy Belles defense forced 28 turnovers and held the Prairie Fire to just 45 total shots.
Lipke had four steals to tack on to her 15 points, and Creachbaum thieved the Prairie Fire three times in the game.
Bridget Boyce was impressed by her teammates success on both defense and offense.
"We really played well together; we were clicking well on the floor," she said. "Right from the get-go we were really good on steals, fast breaks and lay-ups."
Saint Mary's 68, Manchester 52
Alison Kessler and Emily Creachbaum stepped up and delivered big in the second half to lead Saint Mary's to its first win of the season last Tuesday.
The pair combined for 12 of the Belles first 13 points of the final period as Saint Mary's extend its four-point halftime lead over Manchester College to a comfortable 12-point margin with eight minutes left in the game.
Creachbaum began the second half with consecutive three-pointers, each after a Manchester bucket had cut the Belles lead.
Kessler shot 9-for-9 from the free throw line in the second half en route to a breakout 13-point, six rebound performance. Her skill at the line was emblematic of Saint Mary's success all night in converting opportunities into scores, as the Belles went 24-for-27 (89 percent) from the stripe.
For Saint Mary's, double-teaming Manchester's Erica Sewell in the second half played a pivotal role in preventing a comeback. Sewell scored 15 in the first half, but only five in the second.
"We really wanted to double team her to start the game," Belles coach Suzanne Bellina said. "We got it done in the second half."
Saint Mary's is back to action soon, as the Belles hit the road Wednesday when they travel to Albion for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
SAINT MARY'S 68,
MANCHESTER 52
at the ANGELA ATHLETIC CENTER
SAINT MARY'S (1-2, 0-0)
B. Boyce 3-12 7-8 14, Creachbaum 8-12 3-4 21, Bush 2-6 0-0 4, K. Boyce 0-4 0-0 0, Lipke 4-5 1-1 12, Kania 0-0 0-0 0, Kessler 2-6 0-1 9-9, S. Broderick 0-0 0-0 0, Malone 0-0 0-0 0, B. Broderick 0-0 0-0 0, Mullen 1-3 2-2 4, Mangan 0-0 0-0 0, Baum 0-0 0-0 0.
MANCHESTER (2-1, 0-0)
Ward 2-9 2-4 6, Sewell 8-10 4-5 20, Quinn 1-3 0-0 2, Conwell 0-3 0-0 0, Kane 0-0 2-2 2, Krisiak 0-3 0-0 0, Clapp 2-10 1-5 5, Estridge 3-5 0-0 8, Freed 3-7 0-0 6, Henn 1-4 1-2 3.
1st 2nd Total
SAINT MARY'S 27 41 68
Manchester 23 29 52
3-point goals: SMC 4-7 (B. Boyce 1-2, Creachbaum 2-2, Bush 0-1, Lipke 1-1, Kessler 0-1), Manchester 3-12 (Ward 0-1, Conwell 0-1, Krisiak 0-1, Clapp 1-5, Estridge 2-3, Freed 0-1) Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Saint Mary's 35 (Kessler 6), Manchester 29 (Sewell 11). Assists: Saint Mary's 14 (B. Boyce 5), Manchester 8 (Conwell 4). Total fouls: Saint Mary's 14, Manchester 20.
SAINT MARY'S 60, KNOX 43
at Galesburg, Ill.
SAINT MARY'S (2-2, 0-0)
K. Boyce 0-5 2-2 2, Lipke 6-13 0-0 15, B. Boyce 6-17 1-1 15, Bush 3-3 0-1 6, Creachbaum 6-9 2-3 14, Kania 0-0 0-0 0, Kessler 0-10, 4-4 4, S. Broderick 1-2 0-0 2, Malone 0-0 0-0 0, B. Broderick 0-4 0-2 0, Millen 0-0 0-0 0, Mangan 1-6 0-0 0, Baum 0-2 0-0 2.
KNOX (0-1, 0-0)
Grana 2-4 3-6 7, Drummond 0-5 0-0 0, Widaman 1-6 0-0 0, Petereson 1-4 0-0 2, Fondow 1-4 7-9 9, Finley 0-2 0-0 0, Burke 3-7 0-2 8, Golz 0-0 0-0 0, Perkins 1-3 0-0 2, Colgan 0-0 0-0 0, Allison 6-10 1-1 13.
1st 2nd Total
SAINT MARY'S 29 31 60
Knox 19 24 43
3-point goals: Saint Mary's 5-17 (K. Byce 0-1, Lipke 3-6, Boyce 2-8, Kessler 0-1, B. Broderick 0-1), Knox 2-17 (Drummond 0-1, Widaman 0-3, Peterson 0-2, Fondow 0-1, Finley 0-2, Burke 2-5, Perkins 0-1, Allison 0-2) Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Saint Mary's 39 (Creachbaum 7), Knox 43 (Grana 15). Assists: Saint Mary's 15 (Lipke 5), Knox 5 (Drummond 2, Peterson 2). Total fouls: Saint Mary's 19, Knox 14.
