Belles need win to advance in tournament standings
by KATIE McVOY
Assistant Sports Editor
With a playoff seed hanging in the balance, the Belles are looking to put out the Bulldogs of Adrian College. Saint Mary's is coming off a victory over Olivet College and a win tonight would move the team one step closer to a better MIAA playoff spot.
"We've put ourselves in a great opportunity now to move up in the tournament," head coach Suzanne Smith said. "We know we can get this win and we played two great games last week."
Currently, the Belles (7-14, 2-10 in the MIAA) are tied with the Bulldogs (8-14, 2-10 in the MIAA) for last place in the MIAA. When playoffs begin late next week, the team in last place will have to take on No. 1 ranked Hope College. If Saint Mary's can get out of that last place slot, however, it will face Alma College instead.
"We won't know 100 percent until everything is done Saturday," Smith said. "Instead of playing Hope we could move up and play Alma who we've played two really tough games against and we would love that opportunity."
A win over Adrian is an important part of Saint Mary's move towards that matchup. Adrian took home the W the last time these two teams faced off at Angela Athletic Facility. On the road, however, Smith and her team are looking for success.
"I always think we play a little better on the road," Smith said.
As of Tuesday night's practice, post players Kelly Roberts and Anne Blair will be joining guards Julie Norman, Katie Christiansen and Mary Campione in the starting positions. Sophomore Kristen Matha will be sitting out again after she aggravated a concussion during Saturday's contest. Besides Matha, however, the team is healthy.
"We're past the illnesses," Smith said. "Being the end of the season there are some nagging injuries, but, for the most part, everybody is pretty healthy."
The Belles offense will be playing hard again tonight following Saturday's aggressive win and looking for Adrian to mix it up on defense. The Bulldogs usually begin their defensive attack with a 2-2-1 press and then fall back to a zone. The Belles are looking to break that defense by scoring first and scoring early.
"[We] want to look to score right away," Smith said. "[We'll] get them to come out of those defenses and make them come man-on-man, where we can really get into our half court offense."
The defense will have to keep its eye on Sarah Vincke, Adrian's leading scorer. Vincke currently holds the top four spots for most points in a game with 35, 34, 31 and 31. She also holds the MIAA record for most 3-pointers in a single game with nine.
"We'll definitely key on [Vincke] and keep someone in her face," Smith said. "We'll switch it up to keep someone fresh on her."
In addition to keeping on eye on Vincke, the Belles will have to control sophomore post player Allison Keebaugh and junior Annie Morton, who joined Vincke as leading scorers during the teams' last meeting. Smith is confident her team will keep control.
"Our post defense has really picked up," Smith said. "I think [the team] is ready again."
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center at Adrian College.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 14, 2001
