On Jan. 3, Saint Mary's pulled off an upset of then-No. 1 Hope College to take control of the MIAA. Saturday afternoon, the No. 3 Flying Dutch (16-1) got redemption and got back on top of the MIAA with an 84-59 victory over the Belles (11-8).
The Flying Dutch started out the game strong and never took their foot off the gas. Just six minutes into the contest, Miranda DeKuiper hit a 3-pointer that put Hope up 11 points. The Belles were able to cut the lead back to seven with 12:44 in the first half, but Hope pulled away to a 39-25 lead at halftime.
The Flying Dutch continued to dominate both sides of the ball in the second half. The Belles couldn't find an answer for Carrie Snikkers who scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jessica Centa was the leading scorer for the Belles with 12 points. Senior forward Erin Newsom added 10 points and five rebounds, both under her season average.
On the bright side for the Belles, they forced the Flying Dutch into 18 turnovers and held them under 39 percent shooting. But the Flying Dutch dominated the boards, out rebounding the Belles 57-45.
The Belles finished their four game road trip 3-1, but fell to second place in the MIAA standings with Saturday's loss. They will try to bounce back at home against Olivet on Wednesday. Tip off it set for 7:30 p.m. at the Angela Athletic Facility.
