Women’s Basketball: Olivet wins 76-73 over Saint Mary’s on Senior Night

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet women's basketball team celebrated Senior Night with a 76-73 win over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Saint Mary's (Ind.) College tonight at the Cutler Event Center. With the victory, the Comets have secured a spot in the 2024 MIAA Tournament.

• Final Score: Olivet 76, Saint Mary's 73
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 9-14 overall, 6-8 MIAA; Saint Mary's 5-17 overall, 2-11 MIAA

• Using a starting lineup featuring the four seniors and freshman Christina Malackanich, the Comets scored the first 11 points of the game. The Belles got on the scoreboard at the 5:27 mark when they split two free throws. After forcing a turnover, Saint Mary's made a three-pointer to cut its deficit down to seven points. Olivet scored the next four points to push its lead back to 11 points. Five points for the Belles, followed by a 4-0 Comet run made the score 19-9. In the final seconds of the quarter, an old-fashioned three-point play for Saint Mary's created a 19-12 score.
• Olivet scored four of the first five points of the second quarter to push its advantage back to double digits, 23-13, at the 7:52 mark. Both teams went through a cold spell for the next three minutes and 16 seconds. The Comets made 1-of-2 free throws to make the score 24-13 at the 4:26 mark. Olivet seized another 11-point lead, 28-17, with 2:51 left before halftime. The Belles closed the quarter with a 10-1 run to trail by only two points, 29-27, at the intermission.
• The Belles' run continued in the third quarter. Saint Mary's began it by scoring 9 of the first 11 points to take a five-point lead, 36-31, at the 6:19 mark. The Comets answered with a 9-0 spurt to regain the lead, 40-36, with four minutes left in the quarter. Olivet extended its lead to six points, 46-40, until the Belles made four free throws in the final minute to make the score 46-44 at the start of the fourth period.
• In the fourth quarter, the Comets stretched their advantage back to nine points, 65-56, at the 3:29 mark. Eight consecutive points for the Belles made it a one-point game with 1:58 remaining. Olivet canned 11-of-12 free throws in the final minute and 18 seconds to secure the win.

• Senior Lily Connelly posted team-highs in points (19), rebounds (8) and assists (5).
• Freshman Kaylee Bush added 16 points.
• Senior Julia Decker netted 11 points and seven rebounds.
• Malackanich finished with 10 points.

• The Comets have nine wins this season, which is the most since 2015-16 season when they had 13.
• The six MIAA wins are also the most since 2015-16.
• Prior to the game, Olivet recognized its four seniors – Connelly, Decker, Madison Bailey and Savannah Pavoni.

• Olivet is back in action next Wednesday, February 14, when it travels to play Trine (Ind.) University. Tip-off from the MTI Center in Angola, Indiana, is 5:30 p.m.