Women’s basketball team loses 57-51 to Albion in MIAA Tournament first round

ALBION, Mich. -- The fifth-seeded Olivet College women's basketball team ended its season with a 57-51 loss to fourth-seed Albion College tonight in the first round of the 2011 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament at Kresge Gymnasium in Olivet.

In the first half, the Britons built a six-point lead on three occasions, with the last time being 17-11 at the 5:11 mark. The Comets scored five straight points to trim their deficit down to one point, 17-16, with 3:54 left. Albion answered with an old-fashioned three-point play and a 3-pointer to extend its lead to seven points. Olivet made it a four-point game before a Briton 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer made the score 27-20.

Albion led by as many as 10 points twice in the second. The Comets would get no closer than three points, 51-48, with 53 seconds after senior Caitlin Thilo (Onondaga/Eaton Rapids) drained a free throw to complete a three-point play.

Thilo led Olivet with 11 points. Junior Alysia Cole (Roseville) and senior Tiffany Thelen (Lansing/Waverly) each scored eight points. Cole grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

The Britons were led by the duo of Patty Rewa and Brett de Bear. Rewa led all players with 19 points and eight rebounds. de Bear was next with 17 points.

Under the direction of first-year Head Coach Nicole Burford, the Comets finish the 2010-11 season with a 6-19 overall record.