PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Despite solid performances from sophomore guard Iliana Gonzales and senior forward Lacy Huck, the Lady Barons could not overcome the Redhawks's tough offense and determined defense, ultimately battling the no. 1 ranked AMCC team through a difficult 85-52 loss.

"La Roche is a very good basketball team," Head Coach Suzy Delaney said.  "They came out and established a tempo and dictated it on the offensive and defensive end." 

For the first five minutes of the game, the Lady Barons answered every basket, putting the first points on the board with a quick layup from junior Stephanie Pahren.  Back and forth baskets left the game tied with 15 minutes left in the half when a  3-pointer from La Roche broke the tie. 

The Lady Barons could not recover their short-lived lead.

"We stayed with them for the first five minutes, and then they started to pull away and we didn't have an answer," Delaney said.  "Defensively, they switched and executed their offense well.  They had an answer for whatever we tried to do." 

The halftime score, 25-42, gave La Roche a solid 17 point lead which only increased into the second half. 

Gonzales worked hard to keep the game competitive. With a 70  percent field goal ratio, Gonzales scored a total of 16 points. 

"Offensively, Iliana Gonzales had a solid game," Delaney said.  "She had some good looks and she nailed them."

However, defensively the final stats did not look good for Franciscan.  The Lady Barons won 28 rebounds compared with La Roche's 41. 

"We went up against the no. 1 team in the conference and we saw why they are number one," Delaney said. "We have to learn from it.  Every conference game is really key, so we want to take what we can from this game and get ready for Mount Aloysius on Wednesday."

The Lady Barons will play Mount Aloysius at home on Wednesday, January 21 at 6pm.