SMC Basketball: Belles lose 11th straight on senior day
By HEATHER VAN HOEGARDEN
Sports Writer
It was senior day at the Angela Athletic Facility Saturday for Saint Mary's. However, despite the added motivation, the Belles' efforts fell short for the 11th straight game, in a 60-48 loss to Calvin.
One bright spot for Saint Mary's (5-18, 1-11) was the play of senior forward Kristen Matha. After missing the first half of the season due to injuries, Matha has come on strong of late. In Saturday's loss to Calvin (14-9, 5-7), she pulled down a game high 12 rebounds to go along with her seven points in 28 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, returning to the court at just about full strength was Emily Creachbaum, who had been out with an ankle injury. After practicing for only one day before the game, Creachbaum dropped 15 points on 5-13 shooting.
"Her presence alone is felt on the court," Coach Suzanne Bellina said. "She is used to the role of a scorer."
However, despite the efforts of Creachbaum, Matha, and forward Maureen Bush (7 points), Knights forward Emily Beard could not be stopped, scoring 19 points on 8-12 shooting. Also in double figures for Calvin were Kim Wolthuis (10 points, 4 rebounds) and Andrea MacDonald (10 points, 6 rebounds).
Despite of the final score, the Belles were in the game during the entire first half, as there were six lead changes. Finally, Calvin led 25-24 going into the locker room.
"I really thought we were going to pull it off," Bridget Boyce said. "We just couldn't execute when the game was on the line."
With 10 minutes to go in the game, the Belles were only down 36-35. However, the Knights went on a 24-13 run to finish the game and extinguish Saint Mary's hopes of getting a win.
"There was a point in the second half when we had to capitalize," said Katie Boyce (5 points, 3 assists). "We just couldn't put it together on both offense and defense to get it done."
Despite the loss, the Belles have not lost all hope in their young team. Coach Suzanne Bellina is especially optimistic about a team of 10 that boasts four freshmen and five sophomores.
"I looked out on the court at one point, and it was all young players," Bellina said. "I just thought to myself, `There is our future,' and that is a positive for us."
Saint Mary's has one more home game before they travel to Alma for the regular season finale. Wednesday's game pits the Belles against Adrian (10-13, 3-9) who beat Saint Mary's Jan. 25. However, Saint Mary's has a great chance to pick up a win in their home finale against the seventh place Bulldogs, who come off a 66-57 loss to Alma.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 17, 2003
