Belles Toppled by Titans

Box Score

• Giavanna Paradiso led the Belles with 11 points and eight rebounds.
• Gabby Diamond added 10 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots.
• Gabby Crown scored a career-high seven points while dishing out an assist and collecting a steal.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team suffered an 82-48 setback against cross-town foe IU-South Bend on Monday afternoon.

The host Titans jumped out to an 11-0 lead through the first 2:33 of play after scoring on four of their first five possessions of the contest. Erin Maloney put the Belles on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws 30 seconds later, but IU-South Bend responded with a 9-0 run over the next five minutes of play as Saint Mary's could not catch a favorable bounce or roll off the rim despite several good looks at the basket. Neither team hit a shot for the next minute and a half until Gabby Diamond sunk a layup in the final seconds of the quarter to make it 20-4 at the first break.

After IU-South Bend opened the second period with the first two baskets, the two sides traded buckets back-and-forth for much of the quarter. Gabby Crown hit a jump shot in the paint, Erin Maloney drained a shot from the left wing in transition, and Crown sunk a three-pointer from the right side of the floor as the score stood at 29-11 with 6:15 on the clock. A minute later, the Belles continued to keep pace with the Titans as Bern McGeever had a put-back layup in the paint and Gabby Diamond sunk two free throws for the 33-15 score. IU-South Bend extended their lead over the next four minutes with an 8-2 scoring spurt, but Gabby Crown had a put-back layup of her own with two seconds remaining in the half to give the Belles some momentum going into the locker room.

The third quarter saw the Belles post their best shooting percentage of the contest by connecting on nearly half of their shots, but the Titans made two more buckets and four more free throws over the same ten-minute span. That scoring difference gave IU-South Bend a ten-point scoring edge in the third quarter as the Titans carried a 63-31 lead going into the final period.

The fourth quarter was the tightest period of the contest with IU-South Bend narrowly out-scoring Saint Mary's by a 19-17 margin. Megan Saunders and Megan Will each hit a three-pointer in the quarter to pull the Belles within 32 points and 31 points, respectively, early in the period. The Titans' lead, however, was too much to overcome as host IU-South Bend claimed the 82-48 final.

Saint Mary's owned a 46-42 advantage in rebounds in the contest with a 23-14 edge in offensive rebounds. IU-South Bend was 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from beyond the three-point line while the Belles connected on 3-of-15 three-pointers (20.0 percent) in the game.

Giavanna Paradiso led the Belles with 11 points and eight rebounds. Gabby Diamond added 10 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots. Gabby Crown scored a career-high seven points while dishing out an assist and collecting a steal. Bern McGeever tallied six points, six rebounds, four blocked shots, and two steals.

The Belles (2-8) have a break in action until after Christmas and return to the hardwood on Friday, December 29. Saint Mary's opens up the DePauw University Amy Hasbrook Classic against John Carroll University at 4:00 p.m. at DePauw's Neal Fieldhouse.