STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - The Lady Barons put up an aggressive fight against conference leader La Roche College only to fall by ten points late in the second half. Coming in as the underdog Franciscan battled hard, pulling to within four baskets in the second half with less than six minutes left to play.

"I thought we played a consistent forty minute game, which was better than the first we played them," head coach Suzy Delaney said. "We need to take that level of consistency and battle with us here on out."

The Barons were off to an aggressive start responding to the quick La Roche offense. However, some missed rebounds cost the Barons some easy points and La Roche took control of the game leading Franciscan 22-14.

Stealing the Red Hawk's momentum, freshman Iliana Gonzales kept Franciscan in the first half; taking the ball and going coast to coast and nailing a basket, putting an end to the Red Hawk's run. Carrying that momentum, the Barons managed to hit some shots to pull to within five and then ended the half 29-36.

"These girls worked hard, we came out at halftime and battled the whole game," Delaney said. "I was proud of their attack on the offensive end, our rebounds could have been better in the first half, but we just want to keep getting better each time we take the floor."

In the second half, the Red Hawks took control of the game, working the offense and creating a twelve point lead. Franciscan battled hard, getting more offensive boards then in the first half and playing solid aggressive defense.

With 5:32 left on the clock, the Barons pulled to within four and looked to close the gap. However, top seeded La Roche College shut out Franciscan in the last four minutes and the Barons ran out of time losing 66-56.

"These girls have potential, we've seen glimpses of it all season and we did make a huge improvement," Delaney said. "They're a young team and we keep gaining experience."

Some key players on the offensive end were junior forward Lacey Huck, who led the team with 23 points and 8 rebounds and Iliana Gonzales, finishing with sixteen points and 5 rebounds.

"They both attacked the basket tonight," Delaney said of the two players. "They've been solid and consistent for us all year and we can count on them."

The Lady Barons head out to face Medaille College on Feb.15, at 3pm.