ALBION, Mich. - Albion College defeated Trine University, 56-50, to complete a winning week of Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's basketball action.
Brett de Bear led the Britons with 18 points and 11 rebounds, moving into seventh place on the school's all-time scoring list. After making a tough basket through contact and sinking a free-throw, de Bear netted her 1,047th career point, surpassing Kacy Davidson (1996-2000) — next on the list for de Bear is Patty Rewa (2008-2012), who netted 1,088 points throughout her career. de Bear is just the eighth player in the history of the Albion women's basketball to pass the 1,000-point mile-marker.
Coach Doreen Carden was all smiles when asked about de Bear's performance. "It's a huge accomplishment for Brett," she said. "It says a lot about her as a person and as a player. She's one of very few people to score over 1,000-points in our program's history."
Emily DeWaters delivered an impressive performance with 14 points — tying her career high — and 7 rebounds while forcing the Trine women to alter their shots and settle for jumpers all night long. She dominated the paint for an Albion team desperately needing a replacement for their biggest interior presence, Darian Payne.
"[DeWaters] is really stepping up with Darian out," said coach Carden. "She's been huge in that respect and she's handling her expanded role really well."
Olivia Savage also had a career night with 12 points after knocking down three 3-pointers, hitting three free-throws, and picking apart a pesky Trine press. Savage iced the game with a free-throw at the 25-second mark that extended the Albion lead to four points.
Carden emphasized the importance of having more than one person step up. "Olivia did a great job. It's really important to get more than one guard going," she said. "It takes a lot of pressure off of Brett and our offense opens up."
It was a game of two-tales as neither the Britons nor the Thunder could impose their will early on. The teams had the crowd buzzing with a dozen lead-changes, and the largest lead by either team throughout the first half was just five points.
Despite all the back-and-forth action in the first half, however, it turned into a game of runs during the second. Albion came out of half-time and quickly pushed the lead to 12 with an 8-0 run, capped by a Savage 3-pointer, that took less than 2 minutes. Trine stormed back into the game with a 12-0 run of their own, capitalizing on 8 Albion turnovers. Sure enough, the Britons responded with a 16-2 run to retake control of the game with just 5 minutes remaining. Not to be outdone, Trine scored 11 straight points over the next 3 minutes to cut the Albion lead to 6.
A 3-pointer by Trine's Kayla Dunn with 32-seconds made it a one-possession game, but the aforementioned free-throw by Savage would ice the game.
Albion women take the floor at home against Olivet on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.