ADRIAN, Mich. - On Saturday afternoon, the Adrian women's basketball team made its long-anticipated 2021-22 debut at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center. However, the visiting Belles of Saint Mary's College came to play spoiler, defeating the Bulldogs 62-52.

Despite an eleventh-career double-double from Chelsea Palmer, and a near-first career double-double from Kourtney Crawford, the black and gold could not overcome a late first quarter push by their opposition.

After Kylie Skidmore knotted the contest at 7-7 with a free throw midway through the first frame, the Belles countered with a 6-0 run that ultimately ballooned into an 11-4 stretch over the final minutes of the quarter.

From then on, the visitors maintained their lead straight through to the final whistle, handing Adrian its fifth-straight loss.

Both Palmer and Crawford closed the day with 12 points to pace the Bulldogs' scoring, while Palmer secured her third double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Crawford, who finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line on the afternoon, ended with 9 boards.

As a team, Adrian converted on 12-of-16 from the charity stripe, with ten of those attempts coming in the second quarter.

The locals also turned in an admissible performance on the glass, corralling 42 rebounds en route to a game-high 14 second-chance points and nine fast break points.

Makayla Clement contributed seven points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists for the black and gold.

The 'Dogs (2-6, 0-2 MIAA) now face a two-week break before returning to the Merillat floor on December 18 to host Albion College.