ERIE, P.a. – Playing key defense Franciscan women's basketball team dominated from start to finish against conference opponent Penn State Behrend, winning 86-49, their second greatest margin of victory in school history. On fire, Franciscan shot 54% from the field, and defensively had 14 steals and 37 rebounds.

"This was a big win for us, our girls had a solid offensive rhythm and played great defense," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "Our girls are talented and they just attacked, I was proud of the team effort."

The Barons attacked early taking the lead with some solid defensive steals. The Lions were unable to keep pace and Franciscan quickly took advantage of the Lions slow start going up 40-18 in the first half.

"Our defense really generated our offense in the first half," Delaney said. "They moved the ball very efficiently, having 13 assists on 14 made field goals. We continued that offensive rhythm in the second and our defense continued to be aggressive."

In the second half the Lions came out aggressive and with a surge of momentum they started to control the game coming within 18 points of Franciscan (47-29). However, the Barons kept their composure waiting for a chance to take back the momentum.

Their chance came when freshman guard Iliana Gonzales made a charge for the net and sent a scoop shot into the basket drawing a foul. The Barons were able to get the rebound off the foul shot and end the Behrend run.

The Franciscan team controlled the rest of the game and finished 86-49 with their third victory this year putting their overall record at 3-7 and their conference record at 2-3.

"This game was a big conference win for us," Delaney said. "We have a small team but it's a great group of ladies we have a solid chemistry that keeps getting better and we're definitely going to keep improving as we go forward in the conference season."

The Barons played strong across the board with each player scoring at least seven points.

Gonzales helped the Barons offensively scoring 18 points, while sophomore Dani Link earned her first double-double in her fourth NCAA basketball game, scoring 18 points and winning 10 rebounds.

The Barons hope to keep the momentum going as they face conference opponent University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Jan. 12, starting at 3pm.