STEUBENVILLE – It was the first win of the season for the Franciscan University of Steubenville Lady Barons basketball team. With a final score of 54-45 against the D'Youville College Lady Spartans, the Lady Barons improved its standings to 1-11 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and 1-14 overall.

Senior Captain Cara Mitchell had her best performance of the season, starting at the tip-off. Within the first four minutes, she registered 11 points, shooting three for three from 3-point range and knocking down two free throws. The Lady Barons played a tight first half and went into the locker room trailing close behind the Lady Spartans, 27-23.

“Cara shot really well this first half,” Lady Barons coach Kelly Herrmann noted. “We've had a few silly fouls but, outside of that, we are playing very well. We're down by a little, but we will play better when Jude [Sarah Clemente] returns to the lineup for the second half after sitting out due to foul trouble.”

The Lady Barons came out strong in the second half with Sarah Clemente, Sarah Viancourt and Cara Mitchell scoring eight unanswered points to give them a 31-27 advantage. The Spartans repeatedly cut the lead to one or two points, but the Lady Barons always responded with a run, extending the advantage to as much as 10 points within the game.

Cara Mitchell led the team in scoring with 22 points – shooting an impressive 8 for 14. She also had five rebounds, three assists, one block, and four steals. Marian Weber also had an exceptional game, registering a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Caitlin Donovan and Jessi Darmelio both finished the night with seven points.

Melissa Kanalley had 14 points for D'Youville, while teammate Jen Sauer added 10 and Holly Beats tallied seven points and seven rebounds.

“We played hard and really picked it up this game,” Cara Mitchell commented. “It's great to get our first win, and we really worked hard to earn it tonight.”

Coach Herrmann was exceedingly pleased with Mitchell's performance in the victory: “Cara shows up to each and every game. She is so consistent, and we can always depend on her. Marian Weber also had a great game for us tonight – we missed her last game and it was great to have her back. She's a real presence on both ends of the court. We played very well as a team tonight, and we were able to confuse their defense with our fast play.”

“We were incredibly excited after the game, it felt like we had won a state championship,” Marian Weber remarked. “I hope that we can carry this momentum into the next few games.”

The Lady Barons' next contest is at home this Monday against Chatham at 6 p.m.