Alma College Women's Basketball hosted Saint Mary's College on Saturday evening at Art Smith Arena after an all day wrestling event and the team hoped to build on the momentum of a successful afternoon.

However, the visiting Belles had different thoughts as they defeated the Scots by a score of 69-61 in a very competitive contest. With the loss, Alma dropped to 2-7 in the MIAA and 4-14 overall, while Saint Mary's improved to 4-5 in the league and 8-10 in 2011-12.

Again, as been the case too many times this season, the Scots fell behind quickly, trailing 6-0 in the first two minutes of the game. However, the home team had a lot of fight in this one and eventually took an 18-17 lead on a lay-up by Fr. G Mallory Pruett (Ishpeming, Mich./Ishpeming) at the 9:40 mark. The Belles got the lead again and fought off the Scots enough to take a 34-29 lead into halftime.

Saint Mary's also began the second half with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 11 at 40-29. But, the Scots went on their own run of 12-2 and cut the deficit to 42-41 when So. F Sarah Stinson (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) hit a lay-up at 14:37. The Belles got the advantage again and were able to hold off the Scots untilJr. G Stephanie Faller (Saginaw, Mich./Valley Lutheran) hit a lay-up for a 53-51 lead with 6:40 remaining.

But, the Belles went on a 12-4 run to take a 65-55 lead with 1:24 remaining, basically securing the victory. Alma cut it to seven twice but at the buzzer, Saint Mary's had the eight-point victory at 69-61. 

Pruett led the Scots with 12 points, whileJr. G Danielle Hicks (Marshall, Mich./Marshall) finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds on the day. Fr. F Morgan Henry (Wayland, Mich./Wayland Union) had nine points and nine boards, while So. G Brittany Deerfield (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord) contributed eight points and eight rebounds.

The Scots will next play on Wednesday evening when they travel to Adrian College for a contest scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.