The Hope College women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling to Trine University 76-64 at DeVos Fieldhouse in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action.

The loss, Hope's first since the Thunder defeated the Flying Dutch 70-62 on Jan. 26, 2022 at DeVos, dropped the Flying Dutch, ranked No. 1 in the country by d3hoops.com, to 2-1 in the MIAA and 9-1 overall. Trine, ranked 16th by d3hoops.com, is now 4-0 in the conference and 7-2 overall.

"We didn't shoot it very well. Our go-to players didn't shoot it as well as they typically do, and that's coaching. I have to get them in better spots to allow them to make shots," head coach Brian Morehouse said after the game. "That's not on 20-year-olds. That's on the coach to put those players in better spots so that they can get the shots they're used to getting."

The first half was a closely-fought affair with neither team leading by more than five points. Trine led 17-16 after one quarter. Hope tied the game at 28-all late in the half on back-to-back baskets by senior guard Meg Morehouse of Zeeland, Michigan (Zeeland East), but a 3-point play by Trine's Sidney Wagner right before halftime gave the Thunder a 31-28 lead.

A 19-3 run in the third quarter boosted the Thunder lead to 56-36, the largest of the game. Trine led 62-45 after three quarters.

The Flying Dutch fought back valiantly in the fourth quarter, using a full-court press that created some Trine turnovers. Senior guard Ella McKinney of Haslett, Michigan (Haslett) pulled Hope within seven points at 71-64 on a basket with 1:24 remaining, but the Flying Dutch would not score again.

Hope entered the game shooting 50.5 percent from the field on the season, but Trine limited the Flying Dutch to 29.4 percent for the game (20 of 68). Half of Hope's field goals were 3-point baskets (10 of 27). The Flying Dutch outrebounded Trine 44-35, including 18 offensive boards.

Senior center Savannah Feenstra of Osceola, Indiana (NorthWood) had a career-high performance in a losing cause for Hope, scoring 26 points and pulling down nine rebounds. She made 10-of-14 from the free throw line. Meg Morehouse added 11 points.

Wagner, who was making her first start of the season for Trine, led the Thunder with 29 points.

Hope returns to action after Christmas as it will play in Ohio Wesleyan University's Hoops for Hope Tournament in Delaware, Ohio Dec. 29-30. The Flying Dutch will face unbeaten Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) University on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m., followed by a game against either the host Battling Bishops or Otterbein (Ohio) University the following day.