The Britons jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes. Alma scored four consecutive points to cut the deficit to two, but Albion responded with five straight points to take an 11-4 lead with11:59 remaining on a three-pointer by senior guard Sarah Caskey. The Britons led by more than four points the rest of the way.
Caskey led the Britons with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Senior guard Vanessa Thompson was the other Briton in double figures, scoring 12 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Albion's defense was particularly impressive in the first half as it held Alma to 5-of-25 (20 percent) shooting from the field in building a 32-21 halftime lead. The Scots almost scored as many points from the free-throw line (10) as they did from the field.
Albion's lead swayed between just five and eight points until a 4-0 spurt with just under five minutes left in the first half gave it a 10-point advantage, 25-15. Junior guard Jaime Fornetti hit two free throws and sophomore guard Jessica Babcock made a layup during the one-minute spurt.
The Britons led by 10 points four times during the final minutes of the half before two free throws by Thompson with 14 seconds left gave them the 11-point advantage.
Alma seemed to have the momentum midway through the second half when it cut Albion's lead to single digits, 45-36, for the first time in the period with 11:59 left. But that's when the Scots' shooting went cold and the Britons' defense stepped up.
Despite not scoring itself for almost two minutes, Albion held Alma scoreless for four minutes and built a commanding 50-36 advantage behind three points from Fornetti. Alma got a layup with 8:10 remaining to cut the lead to 12, but Albion immediately pushed the ball upcourt and got a fastbreak layup from Thompson.
Once again the Scots cut the lead to 12, 52-40, but Fornetti answered with a three-pointer from the corner with 7:32 left to extend Albion's advantage to 55-40. The Scots didn't get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Fornetti scored six of her eight points during that key stretch.
Despite the absence of 6-foot sophomore forward Ruthie Sventickas, Albion's second-leading scorer and third-best rebounder, to injury, the Britons outplayed the Scots in the paint, outrebounding them 46-31 and grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.
Despite playing just 18 minutes due to foul trouble, junior forward Liz Marcuz led the Britons in rebounds with eight. Sophomore forward Blair Meyer added six boards.
Albion's defense forced Alma into 17 turnovers and got seven steals, including two by Caskey.
With the win the Britons improved to 18-2 overall and 10-1 in the MIAA. Alma fell to 7-9, 2-8.
ALMA COLLEGE (7-9; 2-8 MIAA) Katey Peacock 5-15 2-2 12; Erica Philp 4-7 3-5 11; Michelle Dettling 3-6 3-4 9; Darcie Philp 2-10 4-6 8; Ashley Borcherding 2-4 0-0 4; Mindy VanDamme 1-3 0-0 3; Jesse Roston 0-1 0-0 0; Ashley Matuzak 0-2 0-0 0; Abigail Way 0-2 0-0 0; Rondi Lounds 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 12-17 47. ALBION COLLEGE (18-2; 10-1 MIAA) Sarah Caskey 6-13 2-2 16; Vanessa Thompson 3-6 6-8 12; Jaime Fornetti 2-5 3-4 8; Emi Guimond 4-7 0-0 8; Blair Meyer 2-8 2-2 6; Kellyn Glynn 1-3 2-2 4; Jessica Babcock 2-5 0-0 4; Liz Marcuz 1-5 1-2 3; Katie Elder 0-3 2-2 2; Stacey Jenema 0-0 0-0 0; Kati Till 0-3 0-0 0; Christine Matthew 0-0 0-0 0; Megan Garvey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 18-22 63. Alma College.................. 21 26 - 47 Albion College................ 32 31 - 63 3-point goals-Alma College 1-10 (Mindy VanDamme 1-2; Michelle Dettling 0-2; Ashley Borcherding 0-1; Jesse Roston 0-1; Ashley Matuzak 0-1; Abigail Way 0-1; Rondi Lounds 0-1; Katey Peacock 0-1), Albion College 3-10 (Sarah Caskey 2-4; Jaime Fornetti 1-1; Kellyn Glynn 0-2; Jessica Babcock 0-1; Vanessa Thompson 0-2). Fouled out--Alma College-Erica Philp, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Alma College 31 (Erica Philp 7), Albion College 46 (Liz Marcuz 8). Assists-Alma College 7 (Rondi Lounds 3), Albion College 14 (Sarah Caskey 7). Total fouls-Alma College 18, Albion College 18. A-217