Women's basketball team loses to Saint Mary's, 71-62, in quarterfinals of 2008 MIAA Tournament

The Olivet College women's basketball team fell to Saint Mary's (Ind.) College, 71-62, tonight in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament at the Angela Athletic Center in Notre Dame, Ind. With the win, the Belles advance to the semifinals Thursday night at Hope College.

Neither team led by more than four points for most of the first half. Following a 20-20 tie, Saint Mary's ended the half with a 5-0 run to take a 25-20 lead into the locker rooms.

The Comets got their deficit down to two points, 27-25, when sophomore Gabrielle Federau (Okemos) canned a free throw to complete an old-fashioned three-point play. From that point, the Belles scored 18 of the next 20 points to take a 45-27 lead. The run included four straight three-pointers. Olivet battled back and trimmed its deficit to 10 points, 47-37, with 10 minutes left. Saint Mary's stretched its lead back to 17 points. The closest the Comets would get the rest of the game was seven points with 24 seconds remaining.

In defeat, Olivet was led by senior Amy Brackenwagen (Grand Ledge) with 15 points, two assists and two steals. Junior Lauren Fishwick (Trenton) joined her in double figures with 12 points, while Federau had a game-high 11 rebounds.

For the Belles, Alison Kessler led all scorers with 23 points. Anna Kamrath and Katie Rashid each scored 10 points. Erin Newsom pulled down a team-leading 10 rebounds.

The Comets end the 2007-08 campaign with a 9-16 overall record.