STEUBENVILLE—Back from Christmas vacation, Franciscan University's Lady Barons basketball team hosted the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Lady Panthers Wednesday night. The game served as a learning curve for the Lady Barons, falling to the Panthers 72-57.

"We started out flat, putting ourselves in the hole," said head coach Luke Heusel. "We let Pitt-Greensburg build a strong lead."

The Lady Panther Casey Stanton tallied double-digits in the first half, leading the team with 12 while Ali Bilak followed close behind with 10. With a field goal percentage of 26.1, the Lady Barons couldn't keep up with Pitt-Greensburg's 37.8%. Marian Weber held the team with seven points on the half as the team walked into the locker room down 31-14.

"The girls self-started and got it going in the second half," noted Heusel. "They knew they had to get motivated and focus for each other."

Franciscan displayed a stronger performance in the second half, shooting 40% from the field and holding a steady 50% from the three-point line. Freshman guard Elizabeth Mitchell showed up on both ends of the court, adding 13 points for the Lady Barons and helping to tighten their second half man-to-man defense. Freshman Hannah Flanagan added eight points to total 12 on the night and returning sophomore Erin Brennen tallied seven.

"The girls stayed strong and went after it. They didn't give up," Heusel noted.

"You learn so much from the teams you play," he continued, "and we'll get there. It's a bit of a maturity thing as we learn to put the halves together for a stronger game."

With two returners, Brennen and Sarah Clemente, back from Franciscan's Austrian campus, the team will begin to prepare for this weekend's games in Buffalo, NY. The Lady Barons take on Hilbert College on Saturday and D'Youville College on Sunday.

Franciscan now sits 1-8 overall and 0-4 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.