STEUBENVILLE, Ohio— In another second half comeback attempt, Franciscan University's women's basketball team came up short, losing 63-50 to a top conference opponent Medaille College.

Franciscan started the game with a lot of energy, winning the tip off and being the first team to score. Then Medaille's 2-3 zone defense shut down the Lady's Barons attack.

"We were getting good looks but we weren't able to finish, so that was frustrating. But we still weren't attacking like we wanted to against the zone," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "We did a better job of moving the ball on offense in the second half."

The Lady Barons were able to increase their made shots from 7 to 12 in the second half and the spark behind the scoring was freshman guard Iliana Gonzales who finished with 22 points. In the second half Gonzales got a few steals, leading to some breakaway shots that closed the gap and gave her team extra energy.

"We played them pretty even in the second half," Delaney said. "We were motivated to come back and dig ourselves out of the hole we were in."

Forwards Lacey Huck and Dani Link put up strong efforts on defense to stop Medaille from gaining momentum with 11 and 10 rebounds respectively. Boxing out and diving on the ground to secure the ball characterized their efforts on the court.

"Medaille is a solid team and them getting a total of only 63 points still shows that we put up a solid defensive effort," Delaney said. "But what we gave up in the first we couldn't quite get back."

Medaille is tied for the number one spot in the conference with a 7-1 record. Franciscan's conference record in now at 3-5 and their overall record is at 4-9.

"With every loss is an opportunity to learn and our girls are doing that," Delaney said. "They have great attitudes and are hard workers."

The Lady Barons hope to keep moving forward as they continue their conference season at Mt Aloysius College on Jan. 20 at 8 pm.

"Our girls work hard, we're still in it and we're still working towards our goal of making the playoffs," Delaney said. "It continues on Monday night that's a big game for us at Mt. Aloysius."