NOTRE DAME, Ind.--Sophomore Chelsea Palmer came off the bench to lead Adrian with 18 points, and junior Rachel Bucher tied her season-high with 16, as the Bulldogs almost rallied from 17 points down in the third quarter before falling just short of host Saint Mary's (Ind.), 66-61, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association women's basketball contest on Wednesday.

THE BASICS
Final Score: St. Mary's College (Indiana) 66, Adrian College 61

Location: Notre Dame, Ind.; Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex

Records: St. Mary's Belles, 8-11 overall (5-5 MIAA); Adrian Bulldogs, 7-11 overall (1-8 MIAA)

TOP 'DAWGS
= Palmer made 9 of 17 field goal attempts and added eight rebounds and three assists. Her 18 points are the most she has scored in an Adrian uniform since joining the team a few weeks ago.

= Bucher converted 5 of 9 field goals, including both of her three-point attempts, and had five rebounds.

= Junior Sha'Trice Graves (6 points) led all student-athletes with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

= Sophomore Addison Bergman (4 points) had a game-high-tying four assists.  

THE OPPOSITION
= Giavanna Paradiso scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals.

= Bella Dugas and Maddie Rzepka chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. The former had six rebounds and the latter grabbed seven.

= Nikki Murphy, who had nine points and four rebounds, dished a game-high four assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
= Saint Mary's built a 20-10 lead after the first quarter by holding the visitors to a .286 field goal shooting percentage (4-14) while making 47.1 percent (8-17) of its shots.

= The Belles led 36-24 at halftime and eventually bumped up their advantage to 48-31 on Christina Shadid's layup with 1 minute and 27 seconds to go in the third quarter.

= But the Bulldogs wouldn't back down and closed the final 87 seconds of that frame and 47 seconds into the fourth on a 9-2 run to get within 50-40. Palmer led the rally with six points and Bucher nailed a 3ball to wrap up the third quarter.

= After St. Mary's went back up 55-40 at the 7:58 mark to go in the game, Adrian made another push to close the gap at 55-50 with 4:36 left. Five different Bulldogs scored two points during this stretch.

= The Bulldogs, however, couldn't get the game within a possession after missing on their next five shots and the Belles made six of their last seven free throws to hold off Adrian.

= Saint Mary's made as many free throws (14-for-19) as Adrian attempted (8-of-14).

= The Bulldogs stayed within striking distance because they scored 18 points off 15 SMC turnovers and outscored their opponents' bench, 22-7.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Despite losing both games to Saint Mary's this season, Adrian still leads the all-time series 30-19. The Belles are now 13-10 at home versus the Bulldogs.

= Paradiso paces the MIAA in scoring with a 17.2 average and she ranks fifth with 7.2 rebounds per game.

= Graves is first in the conference with 10 rebounds a game and she is second with 42 blocks.

= At 146 in her career, Graves is under 10 blocks to break Ann Terpstra's all-time school record of 153, set from 1996 to 2000.     

UP NEXT
= Adrian's next outing is Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Albion to commence the month of February. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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