NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Backed by a 21-point effort by Lolo Reed, the Albion College women's basketball team earned a 72-58 win over St. Mary's College on Wednesday evening. In the MIAA opener, the sophomore scored a career high while bringing down eight rebounds.

Sophomores Riley Davis (13 points) and Dareonna Little (10 points) were the other Britons that finished the night in double figures. Both Davis and Little totaled six rebounds as well. 

Albion improves to 5-1 overall, 1-0 in the conference. The Belles slip to 1-6, 0-1.

Using a 16-2 run that spanned nearly six minutes in the first quarter, Albion got off to a hot start. Cierra Cole intercepted a pass and sank the layup to ignite the offense. With the Britons up by two, Davis buried a triple off a feed from Reed, lifting Albion to an 11-6 lead. 

Moments later, Angelina Mendieta knocked down a triple to add life to the Albion offense. Following a defensive stop, Cole grabbed the rebound and went coast to coast to put the visitors ahead by 10. At the end of the opening quarter, Albion led 24-14. 

In an evenly contested second quarter, neither team could truly find momentum as Albion could not put away the Belles, nor could the hosts cut into the lead. The Brits went into halftime leading 32-39. 

St. Mary's chipped away, knocking down 3-pointers and forcing the Britons into poor shots, eventually trimming the lead to three. With 4:13 left in the third, Davis drained a triple, silencing the Belles and swinging the momentum in Albion's favor. Heading into the final quarter, the Brits held a six point lead. 

The Britons began to pull away in the fourth quarter, limiting the Belles to just six points in the period. Back to back buckets from Reed combined with free throws by Mendieta and Elena Welker to ice the game sealed the victory for Albion. 

This is the sixth straight season Albion has opened conference play with a win.

Despite both teams being fairly matched statistically, Albion held a significant edge in points in the paint, outsourcing the hosts by 12. Reed, Little and Davis played large roles in that category. 

On Saturday, the Britons will host Olivet (1-6, 0-1) for a 3 p.m. tip off.