Daytona Beach, Fla. - Senior tri-captain center
Christine Card (Waterbury, Conn.) totaled 10
points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks to lead the Trinity College
Bantams to a 60-53 win over the Thomas More College Saints in the
finals of the Daytona Beach Shootout at the Ocean Center this
evening. Trinity improves to 9-2 with its sixth consecutive
victory, while the Saints, ranked No. 9 in the nation, fall to 8-1.
Trinity never trailed in the game, which featured slow starts by
both offenses. The Bantams led, 7-5, with eight minutes left
in the first half and rattled off seven straight points on two
free throws and a three by senior guard Tess Donie
(Worcester, Mass.) and a pass and shot from Donie to Card
to take a 14-5 lead five minutes before the break. Trinity
extended its lead to double digits at 20-9 on a three-pointer by
sophomore guard Kaitlin Ciarleglio (Waterbury,
Conn.), but the Saints scored eight unanswered points
to pull back within four at 21-17 late in the half.
Trinity used another 7-0 run early in the second stanza
to push a 23-19 lead back into double digits, and extended its
advantage to a game-high 15 points at 36-21 on a jumper by
Ciarleglio. The Saints clawed back and pulled within six
points at 44-38 on a jumper by sophomore guard Kate Tierney
(Villa Hills, Ky.) with 9:14 left on the clock. The
comeback continued gradually throughout the latter half of the
second frame, and a bucket by freshman guard Paige Bowling
(Butler, Ky.) with 1:05 remaining reduced the Trinity lead
back to a single point for the first time since the opening minute
at 54-53. Bantam sophomore guard Michelle Royals
(Torrington, Conn.) answered immediately with a
three-pointer and added a pair of free throws, while
Card stole the ball from Tierney in the
final minute to preserve the Bantam win despite three
misses from the foul line in the final 10 seconds of play.
Senior tri-captain guard Claire Arnstein (Hicksville,
N.Y.) paced the Trinity offense with 14 points and added
four assists, while Royals scored 12 points, and Ciarleglio
finished with 10 points, seven boards, and three steals.
Junior center Nicole Dickman (Park Hills, Ky.) led
all scorers with 18 points to go with four rebounds, while Tierney
added 13 points. The Bantams shot 31.7 percent from the field
and missed 13 free throws but held a 38-31 edge on the glass.
box score
