The Alma Women's Basketball team hosted Adrian College this evening in the first MIAA contest of the 2011-12 season and came away with a 46-43 win. The Scots now have a 1-4 record, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-3 on the season. Alma will continue league action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Saint Mary's for a 3:00 p.m. game.

"I think you can credit this win to the schedule that we have played thus far," said Alma Head Coach Keisha Brown. "Having played Division II teams and the #6 NAIA team prepared us for the pressure of this type of game. We responded well to Adrian coming after us in the second half and even though we are young, I am excited about where we are going."

After a couple of early leads by Adrian in the first half, Alma took a 9-6 advantage on a three-pointer by So. G Brittany Deerfield (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord) at the 14:00 mark. The Scots would not trail again in the first 20 minutes, shooting 43% to take a 34-25 lead into halftime.

The second half was a hard-fought 20 minutes, with stifling defense and low scoring. The Bulldogs, as expected, made a run to get back into the game and actually took a 40-39 lead with 9:45 remaining. The game then stayed at that score for almost four minutes until Deerfield knocked down a jumper at 5:59.

Alma would not relinquish the lead from that point on and actually extended the advantage to four points before ultimately walking off the court with the 49-46 league win. Both teams struggled from the field in the second half with each team shooting just 22.2%. 

For the game, Fr. F Morgan Henry (Wayland, Mich./Wayland Union) was the team's leading scorer with nine points, while Fr. G Grace Wheeler (St. Ignace, Mich./LsSalle) was next with eight points. Jr. G Danielle Hicks (Marshall, Mich./Marshall) paced the Scots in rebounds and assists with five and three respectively.