Saint Mary's fell behind early in what turned out to be an insurmountable deficit as the Belles fell to Albion 73-58 Saturday in Albion, Mich.
The Belles (5-17, 3-10 MIAA) found themselves immediately behind in the first half as the Brits (7-14, 4-8) started on a 15-2 run to open the game.
The Belles didn't score until the 10:53 mark of the first half, when freshman forward Emily Page hit a jump shot. After back-to-back baskets by junior guard Shanlynn Bias, the Belles shortened Albion's lead to only seven points. The Brits, however, quickly responded with a layup and six consecutive points to gain a 23-10 lead over the Belles and extended their lead to 43-27 at the half. With less than seven minutes left in the second half, Saint Mary's heated up and worked to get back in the game. Field goals from freshman guard Sarah Macius, freshman forward Eleni Shea, senior guard Kayla Wolter and Bias secured eleven straight points for the Belles and shrunk the Brits' lead to 15. The Belles, however, would not come any closer, as Albion closed out the game to win 73-58. Despite the loss, the Belles found success in several facets of the game. Bias led the Belles with fifteen points, while Wolter scored 11 points and had a career-high seven assists. Freshman forward Krista Knapke had nine points and led the Belles with 10 rebounds.
Saint Mary's also improved its play in the second half. Connecting on only 25 percent of their shots in the first half, the Belles shot 48 percent and outscored the Brits 31-30 in the second half.
Saint Mary's head coach Jennifer Henley said the team's play in the second half significantly improved from that in the first half.
"We were a different team in the second half," Henley said. "In the first half, we couldn't find a way to stop Albion as a team."
Coming off another loss, the Belles look to prepare for their next opponent, Calvin (18-1, 11-0).
"We need to find a way to put 40 minutes of solid basketball together," Henley said.
Saint Mary's takes on Calvin College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Angela Athletic Facility
Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu
