PITTSBURGH, P.a. – After going down by twenty in the first half the Lady Barons fought hard to dig out of the hole but fell to La Roche College 82-53. Freshman guard Iliana Gonzales sparked the offense in the second half but the Lady Barons were unable to make a full comeback.

La Roche came out aggressive in the first half quickly taking control on defense and converting on key turnovers. Franciscan worked to open up their offense and finish shots but they were unable to match the Redhawks.

"La Roche is a tough program and the top team in the conference, the bar was set high and we got a chance to experience that," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "They make you work so hard to get a good look and when you do, you have to cash it in. Tonight we didn't get enough good looks and when we got them, we struggled make them count."

Going into halftime the Lady Barons faced a daunting deficit of 20 points but Franciscan came out stronger in the second half, attacking the offensive line and getting some solid opportunities.

The Lady Barons were only out scored by nine points in the second half. The team scored 33 of its points in the second half to the Redhawks 42 second half points.

Unable to create a back half comeback the Barons ran out of time losing 82-53, with a 35% overall field goal percentage. However, staying true to their strengths the team was consistent on the free throw line shooting 83%.

"We definitely attacked the hoop better in the second half," Delaney said. "However, our defense still had too many breakdowns."

Iliana Gonzales kept the team going in the second half scoring 19 points and winning 5 rebounds. Also contributing to the team effort was junior captain Lacey Huck scoring 12 points and winning 6 rebounds.

The team switches focus to their up and coming home game against Medaille College on Jan. 18, starting at 3pm.