NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Basketball defeated Adrian College, 63-53, on Wednesday night at the Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex. The Belles improve to 7-11 (2-7 MIAA) while the Bulldogs fall to 7-11 (3-6 MIAA).
 
The two teams played the first quarter as evenly as they could, trading buckets consistently with the largest lead only being four points. The two teams finished the first ten minutes tied at 12. Saint Mary's outrebounded Adrian, 10-8, in the quarter while sophomore Ella Notaro (Crystal Lake, IL) led the Belles with four points.
 
The Belles dominated the second quarter as they shot an incredible 67% from the field and knocked down all three of their three-point attempts to head into the locker room with a 33-24 advantage. Saint Mary's continued to dominate the glass, outrebounding Adrian, 19-13, in the first half. Junior Annie Restovich (St. Louis, MO) and senior Hannah Outlaw (Jones, MI) led the team with six and five points each. Saint Mary's distributed the wealth in the first half as nine Belles found themselves on the scoresheet.
 
The Belles defense shined in the third quarter as they forced 11 turnovers in the quarter alone. Saint Mary's used a dominant 11-0 run in the quarter, that saw their lead grow to 16, and forced five of those turnovers, to help take a 49-36 lead into the fourth. Restovich moved into double-figures with 11 points while all ten Belles that saw the floor found themselves on the scoresheet.
 
The Saint Mary's defense continued to show in the fourth quarter, holding Adrian to a 33% field goal percentage to hold on to their 63-53 victory. The Belles would knock down nine free throws in the quarter alone to hold on for their second MIAA win of the season.
 
Annie Restovich along with junior Kate Restovich (St. Louis, MO) and freshman Liv Fry (Fort Wayne, IN) led the team with 11 points each while sophomore Ella Andree (Spring Lake, MI) added eight. Outlaw grabbed a team high eight rebounds while Fry grabbed six and Andree grabbed five. Outlaw and Notaro snagged three steals each.
 
The Belles shot 40% from the field as a team while shooting 46% from three-point and knocking down 19 free throws. The defense forced 18 turnovers while the Belles outrebounded the Bulldogs, 38-34.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's concludes their week-long homestand on Saturday as they host Albion College for a 1pm tipoff. The Belles will also celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, honoring the team's seniors before the game while the Dance and Cheer team seniors will be honored at halftime.