KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College women's basketball team was defeated 68-51 by the visiting Alma College Scots Saturday afternoon at Anderson Athletic Center.
Alma outscored the Hornets by a combined score of 49-19 in the first and third quarters to stake itself to a big advantage. Kalamazoo's strong second and fourth-quarter performances resulted in them outscoring the visitors 32-19, but were not enough to secure the Hornets an MIAA victory.
The Scots claimed a 20-9 advantage after the first quarter, but K held the visitors to 2-13 shooting from the field in the second quarter on their way to a 15-7 advantage. As a result, the Hornets faced a manageable three-point deficit, 27-24, entering the halftime break.
Sara English's bucket 11 seconds into the third quarter brought the Hornets to within 27-26 and on the cusp of their first lead since it was 5-3 in the first quarter, but Alma then went on a 12-2 run over the next 4:18 to reclaim a double-digit lead, 39-28. Kaelyn Arlington's jump shot stopped the run temporarily, but Alma then scored the next nine points before another Arlington basket made the score 48-32 with 2:38 left in the quarter.
A Laila Vincent three-pointer with 6:58 remaining in the game brought the Hornets to within 12 points, 57-45, but that was as close as K would get the rest of the way.
Arlington led the Hornets (3-13, 1-6 MIAA) with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kaytlyn Tidey chipped in 10 points and Vincent tallied nine points, seven rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots.
Alma outshot the Hornets overall, 47-39%, but K made 43% (6-14) of its 3-point attempts compared to the visitor's 21% (4-19). The Scots did have a big advantage from the free-throw line, however, making 10-17 attempts, while the Hornets made just one of their four opportunities. Alma claimed advantages in assists (15-12), blocks (7-2), and steals (16-5). K outrebounded the visitors 38-32 on the afternoon.
Next up for the Hornets is a road trip to Trine on Monday, where they will face the Thunder for a 7 p.m. contest that was rescheduled from Jan. 15.