SMC Basketball: Belles drop third in a row despite Blair's 21
By: JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
The Saint Mary's basketball team posted its third loss in a row Saturday, despite senior forward Anne Blair's lighting up the court with her game-high 21 points. With no other shooters, though, the Belles lost to Albion, 61-41, extending their road-losing streak to five.
The Belles beat the Britons at home Jan. 2, but could not repeat their success at Albion's Kresge Gymnasium. Albion, boosted by a win against Hope that halted the 39-game winning streak of the Flying Dutch, came out intense from the start of Saturday's game. The Britons had run up 11 points before the Belles could score their first basket.
"We beat [Albion] early in the season. We knew what to expect, but they've gone on a rampage and have done great," said senior Jamie Dineen, who finished the afternoon with four rebounds and no points. "[After their win against previously undefeated Hope], we knew that they'd be pretty pumped for the game."
The Belles were confident about this game also — partially because they had already beat the Britons this season and partially because of a much-welcomed day of rest coach Suzanne Smith gave to her players last Thursday.
"It was helpful to have a day of rest and reflection and your own time to get caught up on everything," Dineen said. "We came back on Friday really fired up for practice."
According to Dineen, that momentum carried into the game, but one of Smith's concerns has been that the Belles seem to lose their intensity as the game progresses. At the end of the first half, Saint Mary's was down by just seven points, 31-24. But in the second half, the Belles were outscored 30-17. Overall, they were out-rebounded 40-27.
"I think we came out with a lot of intensity, but I don't know if we kept getting the ball to the people that were on fire," said freshman starter Katie Boyce, who had six points and nine rebounds. "We have to recognize who is hitting that night and get the ball to that person."
Saturday it seemed that Blair was the only one on fire. Boyce believes said the Belles did not get the ball to Blair enough or she would have scored even more points.
None of the Belles scored half as many points as their captain. Freshman Emily Creachbaum was second on the team in scoring with six points.
"Offensively we've been struggling for the past two games," Dineen said.
Other individuals besides Blair helped keep the Belles in the game during the first half and the start of the second. Sophomore Katie Miller, whose tenacious play and reliable 3-point shooting has been a great asset for the Belles in recent games, scored Saint Mary's only 3-pointer of the night and finished with a game-high eight assists. Creachbaum had a game-high nine rebounds.
Saint Mary's shot 34 percent from the floor and 6.2 percent from beyond the arc. This is the second time this season the Belles have attempted 16 3-pointers and made only one.
Albion, led by Amanda Yeager's 14 points and Stacey Supanich's 12, was 28-57 from the floor and 5-15 from 3-point range.
The Belles had been approaching this game from the angle of a new beginning, as it was the first contest of the second round of conference play.
"It was kind of like a new start because we had already gone through the whole conference one time around," Boyce said. "After the first round, we were [hoping] to begin the second round of our conference with a win."
Although disappointed, the Belles are looking forward to Wednesday night, when they will have a second shot at beating Alma — to which they lost 66-52 in a hard-fought game Jan. 5.
All Sports Stories for Monday, January 28, 2002
