PITTSBURGH - Turnovers and foul trouble plagued the Franciscan women's basketball team in a 77-51 New Year's Eve loss to Chatham University.

The Lady Barons committed 28 turnovers in the game, a season high, while sophomore forward Bernadette Roach fouled out in the third quarter and guards Sarah Schriner and Iliana Gonzales each finished with four fouls.

Senior guard/forward Stephanie Pahren opened up the scoring with a jump shot off an assist from Gonzales just 19 seconds into the game. A few minutes later, freshman guard Raegan Stead hit a jumper off a Pahren assist to give the Lady Barons a 4-2 lead, the last lead they would see in the game.

From that point on, the turnovers and foul trouble began to dictate the game for the Lady Barons as Chatham took advantage of the increased scoring opportunities, scoring 26 points off turnovers and shooting 18-of-24 from the free throw line.

Halftime adjustments allowed Franciscan to go on an 11-2 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter, cutting the Cougar lead down to 12 points before Chatham went on an 11-2 run of its own.

Chatham opened up a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter before both teams emptied their benches, giving bench players some valuable in-game experience. Gonzales took advantage of the inexperience of the Cougars on the floor and scored six of her team-leading 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Gonzales earned her first double-double of the season by grabbing 12 rebounds, a season-high for the senior. Stead finished as the Lady Barons second leading scorer with 11 points.

Sophomore center Lucia Westrick saw her first action of the season and finished particularly well in the fourth quarter, grabbing four rebounds.

Leading the Cougars was senior guard Rachel McClain with 21 points. Junior forward Jesse Hinkel and sophomore guard Megan Sieg also reached double figures with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Hinkle also led her team in rebounds with eight.

2015 has been a struggle as the Lady Barons finish out the calendar year with a 1-8 record but the new year offers new chances to turn the season around with a majority of conference play still remaining.

The Lady Barons will resume play in 2016 when Franciscan will host Pitt.-Greensburg on January 6 at 8 p.m. in a return to AMCC action.