It has been a record-breaking season for the Saint Mary's basketball team.
The Belles, under the direction of coach Jennifer Henley, registered 13 MIAA conference wins and 15 total wins, both of which are school records. However, the team is not content with all of its success.
Tonight marks the beginning of the MIAA conference tournament for the Belles, giving them another chance to make school history.
Saint Mary's (15-9 overall. 13-3 MIAA), which came up 1.5 games short of rival Hope College for the regular season championship, will try to win the first MIAA tournament championship in its program's history. Since the tournament's inception in the early 1990s, the Belles have yet to reach the title game.
The Belles' first step to achieving history comes tonight when they host Adrian College in the first round at the Angela Athletic Complex.
Saint Mary's and Adrian squared off twice in the regular season, with the Belles getting the better of their opponent each time. Saint Mary's walked away with 74-69 and 77-71 wins earlier this year.
The previous close matchups could possibly make this a trap game for Saint Mary's, which cannot afford to make many mistakes if it expects to win. Several untimely miscues could end in an unfortunate opening-round loss for the favored Belles.
All year, the Belles have looked to senior forward Erin Newsom to lead the team and she has done just that. Newsom came up huge in both of the previous games against Adrian, scoring 15 and 22 points in the respective contests.
