Women's Basketball Wins in Season Opener
Dan Kupper
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The Trinity College women's basketball team rallied from behind this past Saturday, Nov. 15, to beat preseason top-25 ranked Western Connecticut State University in the season-opener for both teams. Trinity won 65-61, a statement victory that provides a lot of optimism for the much anticipated season.
"It's great to start the season off 1-0," said junior co-captain Claire Arnstein. "The whole team contributed to this win. We had three starters in double digits and for our first game, we all just played really well together. It is a great feeling to see the potential that our young team (nine freshmen) has and the damage that we can do."
Tess Donie '10, who was injured for most of last season, led Trinity (1-0) with 16 points. Christine Card '10 and guard Kaitlin Ciarleglio '12 each added 13 points apiece.
Western (0-1) got on the board early by scoring the first basket of the game, but Donie retaliated less than 20 seconds later with a layup to tie the score. The game went back and forth for much of the first half until Trinity went on a scoreless lull with six minutes left. Western capitalized and pulled ahead 37-30 going into halftime.
Trinity combined great execution with a high level of intensity to begin the second half. They put Western on their heels and forced the Colonials to call a quick timeout. This proved to be ineffective, as Trinity went on a 16-2 run to open the half and take the lead, 46-39. Much of the play was consistent on both ends for the rest of the half until the Bantams, who shot an astounding 75 percent from beyond the arc, relinquished an 11-point lead with three minutes left in the game and let Western pull within four points. Donie hit two clutch free throws to increase Trinity's lead to six points at 64-58. After a number of Bantam turnovers allowed the Colonials to cut the lead in half, Arnstein stole the ball and called a timeout with 13 seconds left. She was able to get to the foul line and knock down a crucial free throw to seal the game. Arnstein finished the game with 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Trinity's strong second half propelled them into the lead and, ultimately, to victory. Arnstein noted the importance of staying positive after the first half. "Although we were down by seven at the half, we ran into the locker room with our heads up," she said. "At the start of the second half, the jitters subsided and we just played our game of basketball. The starting five executed and brought the game within one, which immediately turned into a lead. The subs came in and kept the intensity. We just had a really strong second half overall."
Heather Lee '11 led Western, who shot 78 percent from the foul line, with 15 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Stacey Roberts '09 added 14 points for the Colonials, who will host Connecticut College on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
An injury-plagued Trinity team was missing junior co-captain Jessica Sims, who is currently out with a concussion. The Bantams next game is away at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., this Tuesday, Nov. 18.
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