Belles Toppled by Knights

Box Score

• Gabby Diamond picked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Bern McGeever added 10 points and seven rebounds.
• Giavanna Paradiso and Megan Saunders each chipped in nine points.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saint Mary's basketball team suffered a 95-49 setback against Calvin in conference play on Wednesday night.

Gabby Diamond put Saint Mary's on the scoreboard and made it a 2-2 game 1:07 into the contest. Calvin gained some momentum quickly with an 11-2 run to gain a 13-4 lead over Saint Mary's with 6:09 left in the first quarter. Bern McGeever kept the Belles tight with the Knights with an offensive rebound and put-back layup to push the score to 13-6 almost a minute later. Calvin twice pushed their lead to 12 points over the next two minutes of play, but McGeever again came up with the response points - a jumper on the fastbreak and a pair of free throws - as the Belles continued to keep within striking distance. Both teams hit a scoreless stretch until Calvin put a free throw and a layup in the book for a 23-10 lead with 1:49 on the clock. Erin Maloney tallied a steal and hit the fastbreak layup with under a minute to play in the period to make it 23-12, but the Knights hit two quick layups in the final 10 seconds of the quarter to gain a 27-12 lead at the first break.

After Calvin added a free throw to open the second quarter, the resilient Belles chipped away at the deficit. Giavanna Paradiso hit a layup after another steal by Maloney before converting a three-point play a minute later to make it a 28-17 game with 7:28 remaining before halftime. Calvin responded with six consecutive points to push their lead to 34-17, but Bern McGeever drained a three-pointer on the next Saint Mary's possession to make it a 14-point game. The Knights countered with another six-point spurt for a 40-20 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the period. Megan Will connected from behind the arc, and Caroline Macius added a fastbreak layup to pull Saint Mary's within 17 points twice late in the quarter. A three-pointer in the final minute before halftime, however, gave Calvin a 45-25 lead at the midway break.

The host Knights opened the third quarter by outscoring the Belles 14-4 to gain a 59-29 advantage. Gabby Diamond and Caroline Macius each chipped in a pair of points later in the quarter, but Calvin established a 68-33 lead going into the final quarter. The Belles were unable to cut into the deficit over the final 10 minutes of action as the Knights claimed the 95-49 win.

Calvin held a slight edge (32) in defensive rebounds over Saint Mary's (31) while pulling down 46 total rebounds to the Belles' 40.

Gabby Diamond picked up a double-double for the Belles with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Bern McGeever added 10 points and seven rebounds. Giavanna Paradiso and Megan Saunders each chipped in nine points. Erin Maloney tallied six assists and two steals, and Jessica Potter registered two steals.

The Belles (1-6, 0-2 MIAA) travel to Adrian on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. MIAA game against the Bulldogs.