MARIETTA, Ohio – The Trine University women's basketball team competed in the Jim Meagle Holiday Classic at Marietta College on Friday afternoon and came away with a 60-57 victory in a neutral site contest versus Carnegie Mellon University. The 17th-ranked Thunder are now 9-2 in the 2023-24 season while the Tartans hold a record of 7-3 following the loss.
Trine was led by Sidney Wagner, who scored 18 points and secured 10 rebounds for her second straight game with a double-double. The junior guard added five assists and five steals as well. Sierra Hinds contributed with 17 points, including three of the team's four makes from beyond the arc.
The Thunder were able to overcome a poor shooting night (41.7% for the game) with fantastic defense of their own. They held Carnegie Mellon to 37.9% (25-of-66) from the field in total. They were able to force 22 turnovers that led to the same number of points on the offensive end of the floor.
In her return to the lineup, Katie Tate started the scoring with a pair of free throws before Wagner started a run of five straight made field goals. Trine led by as many as nine at 14-5 following a free throw by Erin Sherwood with 3:46 left in the first. Tate wrapped up a six-point first quarter with two makes down the stretch to go up 18-11 through 10 minutes.
The first five points of the second quarter belonged to the Thunder with a three-point make by Hinds and a made jump shot by Wagner. The Tartans used a timeout less than two minutes into the quarter to try to break the momentum. The break would be beneficial for six straight points, but a trifecta from Allison Capouch increased the Thunder lead to 26-17.
Hinds increased the gap back to 12 with a bucket from deep, but a 12-5 scoring run for Carnegie Mellon put the scoreboard at 34-28 Trine at the end of the first half. The Tartans would score first in the third quarter to make it a one possession game, but Abby Sanner scored a basket off a feed by Jada Rhonehouse to counter.
Carnegie Mellon continuously got to within one possession throughout the third, but the Thunder were able to answer every made field goal with points on the other end. Trine would take a 48-44 advantage into the final stanza.
On the opening possession, the Tartans cut the Thunder lead down to one at 48-47, but Trine remained in front with their efforts on the defensive end of the floor. Hinds, Sanner, Wagner and Sherwood brought the lead back up to two possessions at 58-51 with less than three minutes on the clock. Carnegie Mellon would fight back with a pair of makes inside the arc before Rhonehouse crashed the offensive glass for a field goal to make it 60-55 with 1:50 left.
A make by the Tartans with 1:34 to play put the game in reach at 60-57, but a pair of misses on game-tying field goal attempts allowed the Thunder to slip away with the three-point victory.
The Jim Meagle Holiday Classic carries on Saturday, December 30 with a 4:15 p.m. tip-off once again for Trine, this time they face Gettysburg College.
