OLIVET, Mich. – The Adrian College women's basketball team defeated Olivet 70-63 Wednesday night, capturing their first double digit win season for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Head coach
Kathy Morris recorded her 16th career double-digit win season with the Bulldogs.
Kiara Wernette paced Adrian tonight, tieing her career high of 15 points. Additionally four Bulldogs, including Wernette, scored 10 or more points against the Comets.
How It Happened
Adrian would only trail by as much as five points throughout the entirety of the contest. Their largest deficit occurred with 7:55 remaining in the first quarter after Olivet started the game on a 5-0 run. The Bulldogs would counter with an 11-6 run of their own during the next 5:39. With 2:16 remaining in the quarter, junior Julia Tierman would find Jordan Phillips open for a three pointer to even the score at 11.
After trailing by two with 8:30 remaining in the second quarter, the Bulldogs were able to distance themselves with a seven point lead with 4:07 before the break after going on a 10-1 run. Sophomore Kylie Skidmore was responsible for seven of the 10 points during the run.
After intermission, Adrian would lead by seven on two separate instances in the third quarter. The women's basketball team was able to go up by seven their first time after a three pointer by Makayla Clement with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter. After nailing a three pointer at the buzzer, Clement would put the Bulldogs up by seven points.
During the fourth quarter, the Comets responded to the Bulldogs and fought back from 11 points down. With two minutes remaining in the game Olivet had cut the Adrian lead to just two points. The senior Wernette responded, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the final 1:40 of regulation to ensure the Bulldog's victory this evening.
With 11 seconds remaining in regulation and the Bulldogs up by six, Clement came up with a clutch steal to seal the game.
Top Dawgs
Wernette tied her career high after recording her second 15-point outing in a row Wednesday night. Wernette was 3-for-6 from the field and shot a perfect 8–for-8 from the free throw line. Additionally, the junior Phillips tied a season high four three pointers this evening improving her career best 14th straight game with at least one three pointer made. Phillips shot 4-of-6 from distance and concluded the evening with 13 points. Sophomore Clement recorded her first double-digit outing in the scoring department since January 11 at Hope College. Clement finished the game with 11 points after shooting 3-of-7 from distance and also picked up two steals.
Historical Notes
Tonight's 70-63 victory over Olivet marked the women's basketball team's seventh straight win over the Comets dating back to the 2019-20 season. The Bulldogs now lead Olivet 57 games to 29 in the overall series.
Since participating in the Puerto Rico Sports Tour this past December to close out the 2022 calendar year, the women's basketball team has won six out of their past nine matches to bring their overall record to 10-11. Tonight, coach Kathy Morris recorded her 16th career double-digit win season with the Bulldogs and her first double-digit win season since 2016-17. The last time the Bulldogs had gone 6-3 in a nine-game stretch was during the first nine games of the 2016-17 season.
Up Next
Coach Kathy Morris and the women's basketball team will have a week off before returning to action at Merillat Sport and Fitness Center next Wednesday, February 8, at 7:00 PM. Next Wednesday, the Bulldogs host Alma College and will be looking to win their second game in a row against the Scots for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
