ADRIAN, Mich.--Freshman Sadia Johnson scored a team-high 18 points to lead three Bulldogs in double-digits, and the Adrian College bench outscored Alma College's 36-13, as the hosts held on for a 76-71 victory in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's basketball action on Wednesday evening. 

THE BASICS
Final Score:  Adrian 76, Alma 71

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

Records:  Adrian Bulldogs 9-7 overall, 4-4 MIAA ; Alma Scots 4-12 overall, 3-5 MIAA

TOP 'DAWGS
= Freshman Shannon Garvey added 14 points and had four rebounds.

= Senior Brigitte Zavithsanos was a sparkplug off the bench, netting 10 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists and three steals.

= Senior Paige Machnacki (6 points) and sophomore Ashley Morris (4 points) shared the team lead with eight rebounds.

= Classmate Kennedy Kunce made all four of her field goal attempts to finish with eight points and she had five offensive rebounds.

= Johnson also had a game-high four steals, four rebounds and two assists.

THE OPPOSITION
= Kaitlyn Kendall poured in a game-high 23 points on 9-for-15 field goal shooting, including 4-for-8 on three-pointers. She also had five rebounds.

= Hannah Thelen had a nice scoreline of 16 points (6-10 FG, 4-5 3FG), five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

= Abbigale Philipson scored 11 points on 5-for-7 from the floor. She also had a game-high-tying eight rebounds and three assists.

= Chloee King (2 points) dished a game-best six assists and Kelsey Wolffis (6 points) chipped in seven rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

HOW IT HAPPENED
= Adrian made up for a 34.2 field goal percentage (26-76) by attacking the basket, outscoring the Scots 36-28 in the paint and making 18 of 25 free throw attempts for a 72.0 clip.

= With 5 minutes and 6 seconds left in the game, Machnacki came up with a block on Wolffis' layup to ignite an Adrian fastbreak that ended with a 3ball from Zavithsanos. That basket matched Adrian's biggest lead of the fourth quarter at 68-63--and it would stay in front the rest of the way.

= The teams traded points down the stretch until Johnson drained a pair of free throws with 23 seconds to make it 74-71, sealing the Bulldogs' victory.

= Philipson had a potential game-tying three-pointer miss the mark with 7 seconds left.

= Adrian also enjoyed other statistical advantages: rebounds (48-41), offensive rebounds (26-12), second-chance points (24-8), fastbreak points (18-6) and points off turnovers (25-11).

= Adrian's largest lead was nine points in the third quarter (53-44 at 7:45) and Alma's was seven in the opening frame (9-2 at 7:05). And each time, the lead evaporated quickly. Other than that, there were eight ties and six lead changes on a night that both teams traded baskets for much of the contest.

= The teams were tied 24-all after 10 minutes despite Adrian falling behind 7-0 early on.

= The Bulldogs won the second quarter, 23-20, to take a slim 47-44 advantage at halftime.

= Adrian built the largest lead of the game in the third, but Alma ended the quarter on a 15-9 run to close within 61-58.

= In the fourth, Tara Padgett made a trey from the right wing for her only points of the game to bring Alma within one, 70-69, at the 2:56 mark. And Thelen made a driving layup to make it 72-71 at 1:21, but Adrian never trailed in the second half.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Alma leads the all-time series that began in 1969 at 52-44, but Adrian has held the upper-hand of late by winning the last eight meetings.

= Alma's Wolffis leads the MIAA with 52 blocks on the season, including a game-high three tonight.

= Adrian committed a season-low 10 turnovers.

UP NEXT
= Adrian hosts nationally-ranked Hope College at 3 p.m. Saturday here at the MSFC. Live stats

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