Belles go for the sweep against Britons
By KATIE McVOY
Assistant Sports Editor
If Wednesday night's game read like a book, then the Belles are looking for a new chapter as they face off against the Britons of Albion College Saturday at Angela Athletic Facility.
A 64-48 loss to Kalamazoo on Wednesday added yet another loss to an already long losing skid, upping the total to six. The Kalamazoo loss wrapped up the first round of MIAA play that left Saint Mary's with a 1-6 record in the league.
"I think as we start out we want to get off on the right foot," head coach Suzanne Smith said. "Obviously we don't want to fall to the bottom of the conference."
Saturday's game against Albion will hopefully open a new chapter in the MIAA for Saint Mary's. Albion is the only team behind Saint Mary's in the MIAA with an 0-7 record.
The last time these two teams met, the Belles played well, beating the Britons 61-52. That was their last win before this six game losing streak.
"Our defense did a real nice job [against Albion]," Smith said. "They had an outstanding guard and post player that were excellent. Fortunately in that game we had our offense."
The offense the Belles had the last time they played the Britons has been noticeably lacking recently. Saint Mary's has scored an average of 49 points per game in the last six games, a big difference from the 80 point games they had early this season, and even the 61 point game they had the last time Albion was the opponent.
Getting some team spirit is No. 1 on Smith's list.
"We need to get some chemistry together," she said. "I think we need to get some consistency with our players and our rotations so they go in the game and know who they're playing. We shouldn't be worried with learning new things, we should be fine tuning."
The starting rotation is set, at least until Kristen Matha recovers from her hip flexor muscle injury. Ann Blair and Kelly Roberts will start off as the post players, joined by Mary Campione, Katie Christiansen and Julie Norman.
Once they are on the floor, the Belles will look to try to contain Albion with a zone defense that worked well in the teams' last meeting.
"Our zone worked very well against them," Smith said. "We'll go to that."
Except for Matha, the Saint Mary's women have returned to health. With a healthy team and MIAA rankings to look at, the Belles are looking for a win.
"I think just because we know we've beaten them before we know what to expect," Smith said. "We think we can win."
Action kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m. at Angela.
All Sports Stories for Friday, January 26, 2001
