ALBION, Mich. – Albion College didn't fade after Darian Payne, who scored a team-high 17 points, fouled out with three minutes left.

Emily DeWaters knocked down a go-ahead jumper with 2:45 left and Oreyana Curry and Mikaela Bromley tacked on free throws in the final 14 seconds as the Britons pulled out a 53-49 victory over Olivet College in the first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's basketball contest of the season.

Albion trailed by three twice with less than seven minutes left, but it never let Olivet extend the margin.

"Holding Olivet to 49 points is pretty good," Albion Head Coach Doreen Carden said. "It kept us in the game."

Bromley led Albion on a 6-0 spurt as it erased as 45-42 deficit. She hit a pair of free throws with 4 ½ minutes left and knocked down a jumper on the Britons next possession. Payne's final basket of the night – a layup with 3 ½ minutes left – put the Britons up 48-45.

Stefanie Lang, who led all players with 20 points and 15 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, produced an old-fashioned three-point play as Olivet forged a tie at 48.

DeWaters responded with her only basket of the night on Albion's next possession and the Britons never trailed again.

Albion's frontcourt players stepped up to the challenge of playing against Lang and Carli Reid. Payne grabbed seven rebounds and first-year student-athlete Erin Nelson picked up her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

"Darian was phenomenal," Carden said. "She didn't back down. Erin, as a first-year player, probably doesn't know any different. They did a great job on the boards and they were offensive-minded," Carden said.

"I hope we gained a lot of confidence," Carden added. "We're still a young group. I think this game will help us the rest of the year."

Please see the Albion Athletics website for the box score.

Albion, now 5-1 overall, travels to Grand Rapids Saturday for its first meeting of the season against Calvin College.