RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College women's basketball team opened their regular season versus St. Mary's (Ind.) with a 63-69 loss. 

St. Mary's (1-0) came alive in the fourth quarter by scoring 26 points compared to Earlham's 12. The Belles outscored the Quakers 19-5 over the final five minutes. Earlham led for 25:54 minutes of the 40:00 minutes of regulation. The Quakers opened the fourth quarter with five straight points for a game-high 13-point lead at 56-43. With five minutes to go, the Quakers were up by eight points. Multiple baskets by the Belles tied the game at 62 with 1:05 to play.  

The Belles scored the first six points of the game before the Quakers got on the board by a jump shot by senior Kyra Joseph. Earlham's defense and pressure caused St. Mary's to commit 27 turnovers while the Quakers scored 23 points off of turnovers. Earlham scored 40 points in the paint versus St. Mary's 26. Overall, the Belles shot 23-50 from the floor for a 46 percent mark. The Quakers shot just 37.7 percent (26-69).

In the first quarter, the Quakers shot 22 shots compared to the Belles nine. The only quarter Earlham did not shoot more shots was the third quarter as St. Mary's shot three more. The Belles got to the free throw line 26 times whereas the Quakers shot 12.

The bench provided 31 of the Quakers 63 points. Freshman Neely Trenshaw provided a spark instantly off the bench on the defensive end. She recorded seven points, five steals and four rebounds in 20 minutes of play. Senior Amy Weisner added nine points in 13 minutes off the bench while junior Rosie Newhart totaled seven points and six rebounds. Leading the way for the Quakers was junior Kayla Bowling with 15 points. Senior Camryn White assisted five times to lead the Quakers.

The Belles were led Giavanna Paradiso with 27 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 11 of 13 from the field.

Earlham (0-1) will be back in action on Tuesday, November 12 when they host DePauw University at 7:00 p.m.