BUFFALO, N.Y.—The Lady Barons basketball team of Franciscan University split their New York weekend with a win Saturday over Hilbert College and loss on Sunday against D'Youville College. But the final score versus D'Youville of 61-46 was not a proper representation of how the defeat went down.

"The game was a lot closer than the final score indicates," said head coach Luke Heusel. "It was one of those games where we really did a great job to get back and keep the game tight, but I have to credit D'Youville. They continued to hit big shots right when they needed it to keep that momentum."

The D'Youville Spartans came out strong, taking a 12-point lead early in the game. Senior Caitlin Donovan broke the ice for the Lady Barons with a three pointer around the 14 minute mark. Donovan proved to be a key player in the game, tallying 10 points, two assists, and five rebounds. Freshman Hannah Flanagan contributed a solid performance off the bench, leading the Lady Barons in scoring with 16.

"I am really pleased with their effort," said Heusel. "We were down but we made a nice comeback to tie it up in the second half."

As the Spartans continued to take the lead, the Lady Barons switched to man-to-man defense, and with some good shots by Flanagan, Donovan, and Sarah Viancourt, the score was tied 32-32 six minutes into the second half. But it wasn't quite enough to pull Franciscan to the top for a win.

"The girls did great with their defense, but we just didn't make the shots we needed tonight," noted Heusel.

"We are building a fundamental basketball team," he continued, "and as we continue to build those fundamentals we will continue to become a better team. Our girls put up a good fight today, and the next time Franciscan faces D'Youville we will be ready to go."

The Lady Barons are now 2-9 overall on the season and 1-5 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The team's next game is Wednesday, January 12, at Penn State Altoona. Game time is set for 6 p.m.