Angola, Ind. – No. 23 Trine women's basketball team defeated Kalamazoo, 79-48, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference game Saturday afternoon in Hershey Hall.

Trine's victory gives the Thunder its first 20-win season since 2000-01 and the team's highest win total as a member of NCAA Division III. The Thunder shot 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor and shot 50 percent (8-of-16) from three. Trine's defense held the Hornets to 32 percent (16-of-50) shooting from the floor. The Thunder took control of the paint scoring 37 points to Kalamazoo's eight.

Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) paced the Thunder with 19 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Tashayla Sutorius (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) added a career high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. On the defensive side of the ball Katy Steers (Portage, Ind./Portage) had a career high five steals.

Grace Smith led Kalamazoo's offense with 11 points. Danielle Simon added 10 points and had eight rebounds.

Trine extended its winning streak to six games. The Thunder improves to 20-2 overall and 13-1 in the MIAA. Kalamazoo falls to 3-20 overall and 2-12 in conference play.

Kalamazoo led 17-8 over Trine going into the second quarter. The Hornets had 12 points off turnovers and had four three-pointers to contribute to its early lead over Trine. Dawson led the offense for the Thunder with four points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Trine took its first lead of the game with 1:22 remaining. A 17-2 run over the final 6:40 of the quarter contributed to Trine's 31-26 advantage going into the second half. Steers paced Trine's defense with three steals in the second quarter. Trine dominated the points in the paint by a margin of 14-2 over Kalamazoo.

The Thunder added four more points to its run from the first half before Kalamazoo ended it with a three-pointer. The run lasted more than 10 minutes. Trine expanded its lead by going up by double digits to end the third quarter, 54-40. Sutorius paced Trine's offense with nine points, including a three as time expired in the quarter. The Thunder knocked down all four of its three-point attempts in the quarter

In the final quarter, the Thunder continued its dominant second half by going up by 20 points half way through the fourth quarter.

Prior to the game, the Thunder honored Taylor Cole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Shepherd), the team's lone senior. Cole has been instrumental helping lead Trine from a 6-19 record as a freshman to one of the best seasons in school history as a senior. She ranks sixth in program history with 166 career steals and has started 49 games over the past four years.

Trine's women's basketball returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 15 when it travels to Alma for a MIAA showdown against the Scots. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Trine University, Communications New Media '17