Belles Fall in Overtime Heartbreaker to Knights
Saint Mary's Stories
- Giavanna Paradiso led the Belles with 15 points and a season-best 15 rebounds.
- Gabby Diamond added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- Caroline Macius registered a career-high 11 points while matching her career-best mark with six rebounds.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's basketball team fought to the end in a 64-59 overtime loss at home against Calvin on Saturday afternoon.
The Belles came out strong against the Knights as Saint Mary's rattled off nine consecutive points after Calvin's opening bucket to claim a 9-2 lead through five-plus minutes of action. Gabby Diamond and Giavanna Paradiso each had an offensive rebound and put-back to give Saint Mary's their first lead of the game. Olivia Lathers drained a three-pointer, and Erin Maloney followed up with a layup for the 9-2 advantage. Two possessions later, Caroline Macius converted the old fashioned three-point play to put the Belles up 12-6 with 3:29 remaining in the quarter. The Knights put six points up over the next 1:42 of action to tie the game at 12-12. Macius hit a jumper in the lane, and Lathers banked in a three-pointer to give Saint Mary's a 17-12 advantage with a minute to play in the period. Calvin hit a layup with under 30 seconds left on the clock, but Paradiso hit a free throw with under a second left in the quarter to give Saint Mary's an 18-14 lead at the first break.
Paradiso and Megan Saunders gave the Belles an eight-point lead to open the second quarter, and Carin Kaminski added a jump shot a minute later to keep Saint Mary's ahead by eight at 24-16. A jump shot and two free throws saw Calvin cut the deficit to four points at 24-20. The Belles came right back with a 7-0 spurt as Saint Mary's scored on three consecutive possessions in the span of 1:23. Gabby Crown started the run with a three-pointer on the left wing off of a feed from Diamond, Gabby Diamond added a jumper off of a pass from Macius, and Macius hit a jump shot following a pass from Saunders as the Belles went ahead 31-20. The Knights closed out the half with six consecutive points to push the score to 31-26 at the halftime break.
The Belles struck first after the break with Paradiso hitting a shot for a 33-26 Saint Mary's lead. The Belles then hit a scoring drought while Calvin chipped away as Saint Mary's maintained the scoring advantage at 33-32 with 6:32 on the clock. Caroline Macius had an offensive rebound and hit the put-back bunny layup to get the scoring going again for the home side. Macius then added a pair of free throws before Erin Maloney threaded the needle with pass to back-door-cutting Carin Kaminski, who hit the layup to give the Belles a 39-32 lead. Calvin again edged within a point of the Belles with a spurt of offense to make it 39-38 with a minute to play in the quarter. Gabby Crown ensured the Belles would keep the lead with a baseline jumper for a 41-38 score. Neither side added any additional points in their final possessions of the third period as Saint Mary's carried that same lead into the fourth quarter.
Calvin took their first lead of the contest since 2-0 by putting four points on the scoreboard to open the fourth period. Giavanna Paradiso and the Belles took the lead right back as the freshman converted a three-point play on the next possession. The Knights countered with a pair of layups to gain a 46-44 advantage, but Carin Kaminski hit a free throw and Paradiso added another layup to make it 47-46 in favor of the home side. Paradiso drew another foul and sunk a free throw, and Gabby Diamond added a put-back jumper as Saint Mary's made it a two-possession lead at 50-46. The Knights came back with a jump shot and three free throws as the lead changed hands yet again. Gabby Diamond returned the favor with a layup with over a minute left in regulation to give the Belles a 52-51 lead late in the fourth quarter. Calvin knotted the score with one free throw on an extended possession to make it 52-52 with 51 seconds on the clock. The Belles were unable to get a bucket on their next possession, but the defense forced the Knights into a tough layup which was off the mark in the final seconds as the game moved to overtime.
With both teams in the bonus on the carry-over of fouls from the fourth quarter, the Knights got to the line right off the bat to open the extra period. Calvin connected on both attempts for a quick lead. Megan Saunders drew a foul to earn a pair of free throws, and she hit one of her attempts to make it 54-53. The Knights came back with a baseline layup for a three-point edge and extended their lead to six with three more free throws over the next two minutes of play for a 59-53 advantage. Diamond put the Belles back into business with a jump shot with 1:17 on the clock to make it 59-55. A foul on the next Calvin possession saw the Knights add another free throw for a 60-54 lead with 1:09 remaining, and three more Calvin free throws over the next 27 seconds extended the Knights' cushion to 63-55. The Belles continued to fight late in the game. Diamond hit a tough shot off of an offensive board, and Paradiso added a jump shot in the lane on the next possession to make it 63-59 with 19 seconds left on the clock. Saint Mary's was forced to foul in order to get the ball back, and Calvin hit the first free throw to make it 64-59. Paradiso pulled down the defensive rebound on the second free throw, but the Belles were unable to get a shot to fall before the buzzer sounded in the 64-59 final.
The Belles out-shot the Knights from the floor by connecting on 24 field goals and three three-pointers to Calvin's 19 field goals and no three-pointers. It was the first time this season the Knights were held without a three-pointer as Calvin averaged just over six made threes per contest entering today's game. Calvin, however, held the edge at the charity stripe by hitting 26-of-38 attempts to the Belles' 8-of-20.
Giavanna Paradiso led the Belles with 15 points and a season-best 15 rebounds. Gabby Diamond added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The senior forward also collected her 500th career rebound in the contest. Caroline Macius registered a career-high 11 points while matching her career-best mark with six rebounds. Olivia Lathers posted six points and a career-high eight rebounds for the Belles. Erin Maloney matched her career-high with eight steals.
The Belles (5-12, 3-6 MIAA) round out a three-game home stand by hosting Adrian on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m.