NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Trine University women's basketball team conquered Saint Mary's College by a score of 85-36 on Saturday afternoon. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest was a make-up from a previous postponement on January 8.

The Thunder (12-2, 5-1 MIAA) dominated the Belles (3-12, 2-4 MIAA) inside with a 52-18 edge in the paint, the second-most paint points for Trine this season. The road team also outrebounded Saint Mary's 43-31 on the day, with 15 of them coming on the offensive end.

After three scoreless minutes, Kelsy Taylor [Louisville, Ky. / New Albany] opened the lid on the rim with a lay-up from Tara Bieniewicz [Chesterfield, Mich. / Dakota]. Bieniewicz connected on a three and Kayla Wildman [Rockford, Mich. / Rockford] with an old fashioned three-point play gave Trine the lead at 8-4 with 4:36 to go in the first.

Sam Underhill [Grand Rapids, Mich. / Northview], Alyssa Argyle [Freeland, Mich. / Freeland] and Sidney Wagner [Warsaw, Ind. / Tippecanoe Valley] all came off the bench in the first and got in the scoring column. Wagner's lay-up from a Rachel Stewart [Pekin, Ind. / Eastern] gave the Thunder a double-digit lead 18-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Trine extended the lead in the second by scoring the first five points. In total, the Thunder outscored their opponents 22-7 in the second to take a 25-point advantage into the half. The Belles were 6-of-24 (25.0%) from the field and dry from long distance after 20 minutes of play, while Trine was 16-of-35 (45.7%).

The Thunder worked to extend the lead in the second half by netting the first 10 points of the period. Taylor scored six of them and assisted Katie Sloneker [Monroe, Ohio / Monroe] on her first basket of the afternoon. Alyssa Argyle knocked down a three just before the buzzer to take a 66-22 lead through three quarters of action.

Brooke Brauher [Big Rapids, Mich. / Morley Stanwood] scored four points in the final 10 minutes en route to tying her career-best with six points and set a new high mark with five rebounds. Tiana Maat [Victoria, BC, Canada / Belmont Secondary] scored her first career point on a free throw in the final minute of play to make the score 85-36.

11 different Thunder athletes scored, led by Wildman with 13. Taylor (12), Wagner (12), Underhill (12) and Bieniewicz (11) all finished in double figures, with Wagner garnering a new career-high. Stewart tallied a team-high seven rebounds with Makayla Ardis [Lake City, Mich. / Lake City] distributing six assists to lead Trine.

The Thunder travel to Albion College for their next MIAA contest on Wednesday, January 19. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 pm.