HAMBURG, NY - The Franciscan University women's basketball team cruised to victory against the Hilbert College Hawks in a 60-40 route. In their fifth year in the AMCC and second year as a full NCAA member, FUS clinched their best conference record in school history with the win. Franciscan led from start to finish a showed how good they can be when they play with consistency.

"We came out and played so strong," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "We led with our defense and had total confidence in our offensive game plan."

Franciscan went on an impressive 6-0 run against the Hawks in the first half that pulled their lead to 8-2. Both teams sank shots to end the half, going into the locker with FUS up 28-14. Franciscan shot four of nine from the three point line in the first half and held the Hawks scoreless from behind the arc.

"We really shut them down from behind the line in that half," Delaney said. "It has been something that we have been working on for a while, and it came into fruition in this game."

Franciscan's stifling defense kept the Hawks to shooting only 30.4 percent from the floor. They also forced the Hawks into 28 turnovers. FUS's main priority all season has been trying to find consistency at both ends of the floor. They were able to achieve that the goal with solid offensive production that mirrored their stingy defense.

"We had so much more composure offensively," Delaney said. "We made some key shots from the three point line and never let up. We kept our foot on the gas. Everybody today played their hearts out regardless if they made a splash on the stats sheet."

Sophomore forward Lacey Huck was the dominant player in the game, leading FUS in points with 16, rebounds with 6 and steals with 4.

"Lacey is so consistent for us," Delaney said. "She always puts in so much effort and it was great that the team rallied around her."

Fellow sophomore Helen Reins also scored in double digits with 11 points while freshman Lauren Noce contributed six rebounds to Franciscan's victory.

"We just played so confidently today, it was really tough to stop us," Delaney said. "Everyone was just so tough for us. I was really proud of our girls."

Franciscan University will look to build on their win at home game against the University of Pitt.-Greensburg Bobcats on Jan 23 at 6 pm.