ADRIAN, Mich.--The Adrian College women's basketball team employed a suffocating defense to dismantle visiting Saint Mary's (Ind.) College, 69-46, in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action on Saturday afternoon, leading from start to finish.

THE BASICS
Final Score:  Adrian College 69, Saint Mary's College 46

Location:  Adrian, Mich.; Merillat Sport & Fitness Center

Records:  Adrian Bulldogs 6-3 overall, 3-1 MIAA ; St. Mary's (Ind.) Belles 1-8 overall, 0-4 MIAA

TOP 'DAWGS
= Freshman Sadia Johnson led all scorers with 15 points and senior Kennedy Kunce (4-6 FG) added a season-high 11 off the bench. Johnson added five assists and six rebounds.

= Sophomore Ashley Morris (8 points) chipped in a career- and game-high four blocked shots to go along with seven rebounds and two steals.

= Junior college transfer Starnisha Harris (7 points) led all student-athletes with 11 rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

THE OPPOSITION
= Ally Steve was the only Belle in double figures with 15 points, tying Johnson for game-high honors.

= Delaney Rohlman led SMC with nine rebounds and had three assists.

= Erin Maloney scored nine points, had seven rebounds and made two steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
= Adrian limited Saint Mary's to 22.2 percent (14-63) from the field and had 13 steals that led to 26 Belle turnovers.

= Johnson opened the game with a 3ball at the top of the key and the Bulldogs never looked back.

= Leading 12-9 with 3 minutes and 31 seconds to go, Adrian closed the first quarter on a 12-4 run to go up 24-13. Kunce started it with a lay-in and Johnson ended the rally with another triple.

= Maloney made a three-pointer and two free throws to spark a 6-0 run to start the second stanza, bringing the Belles within 24-19 at the 6:18 mark.

= The Bulldogs, however, went back up by double digits, 33-21, at the half.

= After a Maloney lay-up to bring SMC as close as 35-28 with 7:22 left in the third quarter, Adrian used a 17-9 run to go up by a 52-37 cushion.

= The Bulldogs won the fourth quarter, 17-9, to seal the victory--leading by 29 points at one point.

= Adrian also enjoyed big advantages in rebounds (60-50), bench points (29-7), second-chance points (18-9), assists (15-9), steals (13-7) and points in the paint (32-16).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= The Bulldogs have won nine meetings in a row and now lead the all-time series over the Belles, 26-16.

= Adrian won its first game when scoring less than 80 points (5-0 record at 80-plus this season).

= The Belles have not clipped the 70-point plateau in seven of their nine contests on the season.

= The 23-point margin of victory marks Adrian's largest in the series versus the Belles. Previously, the Bulldogs won by 20, 75-55, on Feb. 14, 2001, in Adrian.

= Before this afternoon, six of the last eight meetings had been decided by ten or fewer points.

= Adrian also started 3-1 in the MIAA last season.

UP NEXT
= Following the Christmas holiday, Adrian continues a four-game homestand on Thursday, Dec. 29, against Defiance College in a non-conference game, tipping off at 6 p.m. Video | Live stats

#AdrianBulldogs #GoDawgs #GDTBAB (Photos by Mike Dickie)