NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Kalamazoo College women's basketball team fell on the road at Saint Mary's College Tuesday night by a score of 71-59 despite a combined 40 points from Kaelyn Arlington and Laila Vincent.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to gain more than a four-point advantage. Vincent's layup with :21 left in the period brought the Hornets to within two, 15-13.
As the second quarter opened, Arlington twice split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 15. Saint Mary's used some hot shooting to stretch the lead out to 32-21 with 1:48 left in the quarter, but Sara English's jump shot at the buzzer brought the Hornets' deficit back to single figures, 32-23, at the break.
The hosts were able to maintain the lead for most of the third quarter, but Jackie Brines' layup with :16 remaining cut the advantage to 49-44. Saint Mary's opened the fourth with a 3-point make, one of four on the quarter for the Belles, who eventually stretched the lead to as much as 17 points.
Saint Mary's long-range shooting was a problem for K, as the Belles sank 11-23 attempts, good for a 48% clip. That and the Hornets inability to make free throws (10-22, 46%) proved an insurmountable obstacle to claiming a conference road win.
Vincent played perhaps her best game as a Hornet, leading Kalamazoo with 21 points and adding 12 rebounds and a team-high five blocks. Arlington tallied 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds and Christiana Hunt had three assists.
Kalamazoo (3-15, 1-8 MIAA) claimed the advantage in rebounding (55-52) and blocks (6-2), while Saint Mary's had the edge in assists (14-8) and steals (9-7).
Next up for the Hornets is a road trip to Albion on Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip.