The Saint Mary's basketball team, fresh off a three-game winning streak over Thanksgiving break, travels to Albion, Mich. tonight to play the Britons. Albion brings a 3-1 record into its home opener at Kresge Gymnasium.The Britons have defeated Washington & Jefferson, Rochester and Wooster this season. But Albion fell to Goshen 49-47 in overtime on Nov. 27.Over the past week, the Belles tallied blowout victories over Knox, Man-chester and Monmouth. But the Britons should prove a tough opponent, especially on the road.Albion finished last season with a 23-6 record. Despite returning only two starters, the Britons have been dismantling opponents, averaging 70.5 points per game. Point guard Sarah Caskey leads the team in scoring with double figure points in every contest this season.Belles coach Suzanne Bellina remains confident."They are very similar to what they were last year, but they lost a few players from last year," Bellina said. "We've always played well against them. We feel like we're on a roll, and they're coming off a loss."As expected, the Belles have followed the lead of senior forward Emily Creachbaum, who scored just four points against Monmouth.Bellina is not worried about the off night."Emily's a player that gets a lot of attention from other teams," she said. "There are times when she's not going to have a lot of production and other players are going to have to step up."Those players have materialized in the form of forward Bridget Boyce and point guard Bridget Lipke, who combined for 36 points against the Hawks."Bridget Boyce has just really found a comfort level, finding a lot of different ways to score and working hard on defense," Bellina said. "Bridget Lipke has really come on as our point guard, leading the show out there. She's working well within our offense and getting a lot of good looks."Forward Alison Kessler also played well against the Hawks, scoring 10 points off the bench.
