Alma's Women's Basketball team hit the road on Saturday for a MIAA contest at Saint Mary's. But they came up on the short end of a 70-63 decision, dropping the Scots to 0-2 in the league, and 1-7 overall. The Belles improved to 2-1 in the MIAA and 7-2 overall.

"I thought our kids played pretty well, but when you give up 19 offensive rebounds and have the opposing team go to the free throw line 54 times, it makes it tough," said Alma Head Coach Keisha Brown. "We will regroup on Monday at practice and start our preparation for Trine. Again, this is a building process, and I know we will see the results of all of our hard work."

Alma led a majority of the first 20 minutes, as Saint Mary's had only two one-point leads in a first half that had the Scots heading into halftime with a 32-28 lead. The Scots opened the second half strong, as they increased their lead to nine points, 42-33, with 15:20 left in the game.

However, the Belles reeled off the next 11 points to take a lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Alma cut the deficit to two points on a couple of occasions, but the with the Saint Mary's making trip after trip to the free throw line, the Scots just could not get over the hump.

Sr. F Sydney Beckwith (Weidman, MI/ Beal City) finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Fr. G Bailey Gooding (Gaylord, MI/Gaylord) had a team-high 10 rebounds and added nine points. So. G Danielle Hicks (Marshall, MI/Marshall) had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Jr. G Jessica DeBruin (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) contributed 10 points (3-6 from beyond the arc).

The Scots will next play on December 18, after taking a week off for Final exams, when they host Trine University. The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. at the Art Smith Arena.