Belles struggle late in game, fall to Olivet Comets 60-49
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Assistant Sports Editor
OLIVET, Mich.
On a night where the theme was "Disco Night Boogie" in the Upton Gymnasium, it was the Lady Comets of Olivet College that had the last dance, topping the Belles 60-49 Wednesday night.
The Belles (7-8, 1-4 in the MIAA) tied the game at 30 with 14 minutes remaining in the game on a 10-footer by Elizabeth Linkous, but could not withstand the strong Olivet offense late in the game.
Following Linkous' basket, the Lady Comets went on a 19-6 run that built their lead to 49-36 with six minutes remaining.
Christine May led Olivet with 17 points, while Louisa Grill added 16 for the Lady Comets.
"I think somewhat we ran out of gas," said Belles coach Suzanne Smith.
Despite the Olivet surge, the Belles kept fighting. Two baskets by Anne Blair, followed by a put-back by Katie Christiansen and a free-throw by Kelly Roberts pulled Saint Mary's within eight at 51-43 with 2:39 left in the game.
But the Comets soared in the final minutes, as forward Louisa Grill torched the Saint Mary's interior defense for 6 points as the Comets finished the Belles off.
"It was a long game, a lot of running up and down," said Christiansen, who led Saint Mary's with 14 points and seven rebounds. "I think we got tired."
Saint Mary's was playing shorthanded, as star post player Kristin Matha nursed a strained hip flexor muscle. Despite the injury, Matha braved the court for 12 minutes Wednesday night, contributing two points and four rebounds.
"It really didn't look like she was real comfortable out there," said Smith of her leading rebounder. "You can't tell Kristin Matha to hold back, she's not going to do it."
Stepping up in her teammate's absence was Christiansen, whose tenacity earned her the team high in rebounds despite her 5-foot-5 stature.
"She has a lot of heart," said Smith. "Katie's done a really good job of stepping up and being that person that gets after it and does all the little things on the court."
The Belles stayed in the game in the first half with a strong full-court defense. The Belles' post players were able to contain Grill, who scores 17 points per game, to only four points in the opening period.
"Our post players have really stepped it up and played some good defense," said Smith. "We've got a lot of strong post players in our conference. We've for the most part held them down below their average."
The Belles looked to be fading late in the first half before Matha and Christiansen took over. Down 19-13 in the closing minutes of the half, Matha's 8-footer, followed by two consecutive baskets by Christiansen, pulled the Belles to within 20-19 heading into the locker room.
The key for Saint Mary's in the opening half was their full-court defense, which limited the Lady Comets to only 29.6 percent shooting from the field in the half. Unfortunately, Saint Mary's matched that woeful statistic exactly, hitting only eight of their 27 shots from the field. Without Matha on the floor, Saint Mary's looked confused on offense. Forward Anne Blair finished with 10 points for Saint Mary's, but took zero shots in the opening half.
"I don't think we got her too many good looks in the first half," said Smith. "We were getting her the ball a little more in the second half, getting her in position where she could score."
The contest was an opportunity for Saint Mary's to pull their record over .500 in January for the first time in recent memory. Also, the loss drops Saint Mary's below Olivet in the MIAA standings, as Saint Mary's remains ahead of only Albion.
"I think this was a big opportunity for us," said Smith. "This is a team that was down with us as far as the standings in the conference and we missed it."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, January 18, 2001
