Box Score STEUBENVILLE, Ohio—It was a proud moment for the Franciscan University Lady Barons when the buzzer announced the start of overtime in their game against the Penn State Behrend Lady Lions. With the score tied at 53, the Lady Barons took the court, aware of their new-found ability to keep pace with one of the leading Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference teams. Although foul trouble and turnovers resulted in a loss, 68-60, the overall performance of Franciscan University lady's basketball team showed exceptional improvement since their 39 point loss to the Lady Lions a little less than a month ago.
"It was a great game all the way," said Franciscan head coach Luke Heusel. "I'm incredibly proud of all the girls in the way that they battled back. We had a shot to beat one of the top AMCC conference teams, and that says a lot about the girls' improvement."
Among the many highlights of the game, was Kristin Belleque's 21 points, the team's high-score of the night. "Our star tonight was Kristin," noted Heusel. "She was a really big reason we were able to compete the way we did."
Belleque was not alone however. Hannah Flanagan and Lacey Huck each scored 8 points for Franciscan, while team captain, Christine Conrad put up an important 3 point shot in overtime. Flanagan, Huck, and Belleque also led the team in rebounds, with 5, 6, and 5, respectively.
Another instrumental player in the game was Molly Coogan. "Molly came off the bench and had two or three great defensive stops and a three point shot that really helped us out," said Heusel.
Altogether, with such tremendous effort and execution, the Lady Barons' loss felt more like a victory. "This game was not about what we didn't do right," said Heusel."Today's game was good for the women's basketball program. It shows that the girls want to play hard, and if they continue this way, we're going to keep getting better."
The Lady Barons now stand 2-20 for the overall season and 2-14 in the AMCC. They will take on La Roche College at home and honor the team's seniors in a special ceremony this Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
