The Alma Women's Basketball team hit the court on Saturday afternoon, with the goal of snapping a five-game losing streak. The Scots defeated Saint Mary's College by a score of 79-76, in a thriller of a game that was in doubt until the end. Alma improved to 3-7 in the MIAA (4-15 overall), while the Belles dropped their fourth game in a row to fall to 5-6 in the league and 10-9 in 2009-10.
"I am happy for my kids as we have worked hard and had a lot of meetings as we tried to figure out what we needed to do to get a win," said Alma Head Coach Keisha Brown. "It all came together today, and it is a huge win. Saint Mary's is a good team that came into today in third place, and now we need to carry on this momentum moving forward."
The Belles led for the first 1:18 and the last seven seconds of the first half, as they took a 38-37 advantage into halftime. But, for the rest of the 18:35 of the first frame, Alma led (except for two ties) in a very entertaining 20 minutes.
After a SMC basket to make it 2-0, Sr. G Lacey Best-Rowden (Lansing, MI/Waverly) connected on a three-pointer to give the Scots their first lead. Alma maintained a small but consistent lead for most of the half, and took its biggest lead of the frame at the 9:31 mark, when Jr. F Sydney Beckwith (Weidman, MI/Beal City) connected on a lay-up for a 24-15 advantage.
Saint Mary's closed the half on a 23-13 run and took their halftime lead at 38-37, when F Anna Kammrath was good on a lay-up with seven seconds left in the half. SMC connected on 50% of their shots in the first half (12 of 24), while the Scots finished the frame at 48.5%, on 16 of 33 shooting.
The Scots regained the lead at 44-42, when Sr. G Lauren Hasler (Mt. Pleasant, MI/Sacred Heart) stole the ball and went the length of the court to drop in a lay-up. That play occurred at the 18:02 mark of the second half, and after the Belles took their own lead 1:17 later, it would be awhile before the home team had more points than the visitors.
The biggest lead Saint Mary's was able to obtain was six, when G Annie Doyle hit a shot to make the score 62-56 with 9:35 remaining. The Scots scratched back to tie the game at 64-64, on a Sr. F Meagan Hoblet (Cadillac, MI/Cadillac) lay-up at 6:18.
Alma took the lead at 66-65 when Beckwith hit two free throws less than a minute later, and the home team extended the lead to four, at 69-65, when Hoblet converted a three-point play with 5:16 left. This game was not over, however, and the Belles fought back twice to tie the game, the last being at 74-74 with 1:16 remaining in the contest.
At that point, the Scots took the lead for good, as Hoblet hit three consecutive free throws for a 77-74 lead. Best-Rowden and Sr. F Kathryn Bigelow (Alma, MI/Alma) each added a free throw. A desperation three-pointer at the buzzer by SMC G Patsy Mahoney bounced off the rim, and Alma walked off the court with the 79-76 victory.
Hoblet, honored before the game for reaching 1,000 points for her career, finished with a game-high 25 points, including 19 in the decisive second half. She also had a team-high six rebounds, while Beckwith added 20 points and five rebounds. So. C Aubrey Maxa (Saginaw, MI/Swan Valley) also had five boards for the Scots.
