Albion, Mich - Behind a loud Kresge Gymnasium, Albion defeats St. Mary's in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Quarter-Final matchup 71-57. St. Mary's is familiar competition from just over a week ago when they met in the final game of the regular season in which Albion won by a very similar margin 71-59. Just a year ago, St. Mary's upset Albion in the first round of the MIAA tournament at Kresge Gym, but 19 points from Rain Hinton helped lead the charge to advance Albion to the tournament semi-final on Friday. 

Albion scored the first 11 points of the game while eventually capitalizing on an early 13-2 run. It was five Britons that contributed to the early run that propelled them to a confident start in front of a rowdy Albion student section.  

"We subbed our press group in early tonight, which gave us a little bit of a run and a flurry. There was great energy coming out of the press that gave us some early turnovers and helped us stretch out an early lead," said head coach Doreen Carden in response to Caden Ebeling and Wills Lee, who were helping out with tonight's broadcast. 

It was a team effort in every aspect tonight for the Albion. 11 Britons contributed to a team total of 44 rebounds and generated 21 total turnovers from the Belles. Nine players scored tonight for the Briton's with only two scoring in double-figures. 26 total bench points and 44 points in the paint proved to be the difference in tonight's win. Despite trailing by as many as 16, St. Mary's brought it back to within two points midway through the third quarter.  

"I thought that both Angelina Mendieta and Rebecca Ross played really well tonight. They are freshman that love the game and are super competitive. I thought the offense and energy they brought to the team was really good for us," said Doreen Carden. Kicked off by Senior Emily Bernas, the Britons quickly started to pull away again with contributions from both Mendieta and Ross as well.

With tonight's win, the Britons will move on to play the #2 seed, Trine, at Hope on Friday night. The semi-final will be hosted at Hope College in the DeVos Fieldhouse with tip scheduled for 5:30 PM. The winner will take on the winner of #1 Hope and #4 Calvin for the championship, which will be played on Saturday at the DeVos Fieldhouse.

Get the latest information on the team by following @AlbionWBB on Twitter and Instagram. General athletics news can also be found at GoBrits on Twitter, AlbionAthletics on Instagram and Albion College Athletics on Facebook.

Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality at Albion College. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated competition facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball teams that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.

The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu