HANOVER, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Basketball defeated Hanover College, 88-80, in the Championship Game of the Hanover Invitational on Saturday. The Belles improve to 4-1 with their fourth straight win as they hand the Panthers their first loss of the season, sending them to a 4-1 record.

Hanover got out to an early multi-possession lead early in the first quarter. While Saint Mary's tried to battle right back, the Panthers seemed to have an answer for the Belles. Hanover finished the quarter on a 13-4 run to head into the first break with a 28-18 lead. Freshman Caroline Langworthy (Cincinnati, OH) led the team with seven points in the quarter, going 3-6 from the field with a three pointer.

While it felt like Saint Mary's had an answer early in the second quarter, Hanover battled right back to keep them at a safe distance. While the Belles tried to keep themselves in the game early, the Panthers got out to their largest lead of the game, 16 points, with four minutes to play in the half. The Belles would battle right back from the large deficit. In the final four minutes of the half, Saint Mary's would go on an incredible 20-4 run to close out the half and tie the game up heading into halftime, 47-47. During that stretch, the Belles went 5-6 from the field going a perfect 3-3 from three point and 5-5 from the free throw line. 

At the halftime break, Saint Mary's had eight players make their way into the scoring column while junior Annie Restovich (St. Louis, MO) led the team with 12 points, all from three point range. Senior Hannah Outlaw (Jones, MI) led the team with four rebounds while freshman Liv Fry (Fort Wayne, IN) dished out five assists in the half.

The Panthers were able to take a slight edge coming out of the break, getting ahead early in the second half. The Belles bounced right back and took their first lead of the game with 3:25 to play in the quarter thanks to a couple three pointers from Restovich and a basket from Langworthy and sophomore Ella Notaro (Crystal Lake, IL). Restovich moved up to 20 points on the game while twin sister Kate Restovich (St. Louis, MO) joined her in double figures with 11 heading into the final 10 minutes as the Belles took a 63-62 lead into the fourth.

While the Belles started strong in the fourth, the Panthers came back and tied the game up at 68. Saint Mary's got hot after Hanover tied the game up, going on a 13-4 run to extend their lead and pull away from the Panthers. The Belles outscored the Panthers 25-18 in the final quarter to take home a strong 88-80 win in the Hanover Invitational Championship.

Annie Restovich led the team with 20 points while going 7-11 from the field and 6-10 from the three-point line. Kate Restovich followed close behind, finishing with a season high 18 points, while Notaro added 13 and Langworthy added a season high 11. Outlaw led the team with eight rebounds while Fry led the team with six assists. Defensively, Kate Restovich also added four steals.

Saint Mary's outshot Hanover 48.4% to 40.6% while also shooting 40.9% from three-point while holding the Panthers to just 22.2%. The Belles shot an impressive 90.5% from the free throw line, going 19-21. The Belles forced 22 turnovers and snagged 14 steals on the game. They also put up an impressive 29 points off turnovers.

UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES

Saint Mary's closes out the road swing on Tuesday, November 25, as they travel to take on Anderson University at 7pm. The Belles return home and kick off MIAA play with back-to-back matchups, starting on December 3 as they host Calvin University before hosting Hope College on December 6.