NOTRE DAME, Ind. - In a battle that came down to the final two minutes of action, the Saint Mary's basketball team fell just short in a 54-47 final against Calvin on Thursday night.

 

Calvin hit the first two buckets of the game before Nikki Murphy connected on a layup. Maddie Rzepka drew the Belles even a minute later with an offensive rebound and put-back layup. The Knights responded with the next four points. Julia Schutz powered her way to a layup a short while later and capped off the scoring in the quarter with a free throw as the Belles trailed 8-7 through the opening ten minutes of play.

 

The Belles took their first lead of the game on a good jumper by Schutz as the freshman started to heat up from the floor. Another bucket by Schutz edged Saint Mary's within a point after the Knights regained the lead, and Morgan Flynn knotted the game at 13-13 with a good jump shot at the top of the key with under seven minutes still on the clock. The two sides went back-and-forth with Rzepka and Caitlin Bonnesen each converting their trips to the charity stripe to give Saint Mary's leads at both 15-13 and 17-15. Claire Bartz got on the scoresheet with a free throw, and Schutz drained a three-pointer on the Belles' last possession of the quarter to give Saint Mary's a 22-20 halftime lead.

 

Julia Schutz connected again from behind the arc to start the scoring for Saint Mary's in the third period, and Maddie Rzepka hit a tough layup to give the Belles a 27-22 lead less than four minutes into the stanza. A 9-1 scoring spurt by the Knights saw the lead trade hands again as Calvin went up 31-28, but Bella Dugas sunk a pair of free throws before another triple by Schutz gave the lead right back to the Belles at 33-31. The Knights countered with a three-point play and a three-pointer to give Calvin a 37-33 advantage going into the final quarter.

 

A three-pointer and a two-point bucket gave Calvin a game-high nine-point lead a minute and a half into the fourth period. Saint Mary's battled their way back into the game as the Belles erased the deficit to tie the game at 47-47 with 2:28 to play. Schutz and Rzepka teamed up to put the next nine points on the scoreboard, which included back-to-back three-pointers by Rzepka to re-energize the Saint Mary's side. Brigid Fuller connected on a free throw, and Bella Dugas banked in a layup to tie the game. Calvin, however, hit a free throw on their next possession and added a three-pointer a minute later to take a lead they did not relinquish in the seven-point decision.

 

The game featured 12 lead changes and nine ties with neither team ever gaining more than a nine-point lead.

 

Julia Schutz scored a game-high and season-best 21 points on the night while adding a team-high eight rebounds. The freshman hit 50.0 percent (8-of-16) of her shots from the floor on the night. Maddie Rzepka posted eight of her 12 points in the second half as the junior pulled down seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Bella Dugas chipped in four points while Morgan Flynn, Nikki Murphy, Claire Bartz, and Caitlin Bonnesen each posted two points.

 

The Belles (2-8, 1-2 MIAA) have a break in action for finals week and return to the hardwood on Saturday, December 18 when they host Alma at 3:00 p.m.