Christopher Dacanay
Sports Editor
The Lady Barons basketball team was defeated 70-54 by the St. Vincent College Bearcats at a home game Monday at 6 p.m.
The Bearcats came out swinging, taking almost a five-point lead and preventing the Lady Barons from scoring until over four minutes into the game.
Freshman guard Felicia MacGillivray put the Barons on the board with a jump shot following a rebound by freshman forward Kimberly McDaniels.
MacGillivray added some more points to the board before being subbed out. The quarter ended with Franciscan trailing closely at 14-12 after a layup from freshman guard Ilena Gonzales.
The second quarter began with Gonzales sinking a free throw, followed by a 3-pointer from MacGillivray.
The resulting action was closely contested, with the score tying up evenly on five different occasions in the quarter. After the teams tied up at 31 points, the Bearcats finished the quarter by leading 33-31.
The third quarter passed with little scoring from the back-and-forth play. The Bearcats eventually took advantage and upped their lead to 51-43 by the quarter’s end.
Despite an early jump shot by freshman center Madison Doan and a layup by freshman guard Lauren Arena, the Bearcats’ slow climb continued.
A couple of buckets by Arena and a 3-pointer by MacGillivray provided some late-game solace for the Lady Barons as the Bearcats’ score continued its ascent, culminating in a St. Vincent victory of 70-54.
MacGillivray scored a career-high 22 points during the game.
Iliana Spoelman, assistant women’s basketball coach, said after the game, “We are very proud of the girls and the fight they put up today against St. Vincent. This was one of the best games we played this season.”
Spoelman said, “(The Lady Barons) were able to compete on every play, and this forced St. Vincent to zone us in the second half. Turnovers and not hitting our shots eventually hurt us, but we are ready to learn from this game and prepare for (our upcoming game against Washington and Jefferson).”
The Lady Barons will meet Washington and Jefferson Wednesday, and their next home game will be against the Westminster College Griffins at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Barons will be looking for their first all-time win against the Griffins and for their first win of the season.