NOTRE DAME, Ind.-- Trine raced out early and never looked back in a 70-58 victory over St. Mary's in MIAA-action Wednesday night at Angela Athletic Facility.
The Thunder came out firing on all cylinders to take a 12-0 lead, and never trailed in the contest. The win was Trine's first regular-season MIAA win ever at St. Mary's. Nikky Moan (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting to pace four Thunder in double-figures. Trine led by as much as 26 in the contest. The Thunder improved to 12-7 overall, with a 6-4 mark in conference play that places them in a tie for third in the league. The Belles fell to 3-16 overall and 1-9 in league action.
Three freshman reached double-figures in scoring for Trine, paced by Emily Whiteleather (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) and Kyleigh Hampton (Wabash, Ind./Wabash) with 11 points apiece. Whiteleather finished 5-of-7 from the field, while Hampton knocked down 3-of-6 triples as she tied her career-high in scoring. Ashley Elliott (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) added 10 points.
Elliott and Hampton led the Trine bench in outscoring their Belle counterparts by a 24-13 margin. The Thunder shot 46 percent from the field (25-of-46) and hit a season-best 9-of-14 (64 percent) from long-distance.
Ariana Paul, Eleni Shea and Kelsey Ronan each scored 11 points to pace St. Mary's. Paul added nine rebounds and five steals. SMC shot 35 percent overall (22-of-63).
Moan paced the hot start, as she scored nine of Trine's first 12 points. Moan knocked down all six of her field goal attempts in the first half to lead the way with 15 points before halftime. The Thunder hit eight of their first 10 shots from the floor as they opened up a double-digit lead early.
After a 14-2 start, later nine and seven-point runs helped the Thunder open up a 43-23 lead at the half. Trine's advantage would not slip below 20 again until 2:24 remained in the game.
Trine returns to action this Satruday when they host no. 9 Calvin. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Hershey Hall.