STEUBENVILLE, Ohio­–Franciscan women's basketball was able to battle the no. 1 Redhawks of La Roche College for a full 40 minutes, ultimately losing 79-63 in the last home game of the year.

The 16-point loss was an improvement over the 85-52 loss on La Roche's home court in the two teams' previous matchup.

"We gave a good effort but didn't get the job done tonight," head women's basketball coach Suzy Delaney said.  "La Roche is a very good team and they showed why they are number one in the conference tonight."

The Redhawks came out of the gate with a fast pace on both ends of the court. After going down early, the Lady Barons were able to keep the game within a few possessions for most of the first half.

Senior forward Lacey Huck led the early offense with some hot jump shooting, scoring the first nine points for Franciscan. Huck finished as the second-leading scorer with 17 points in her last game on Kuzma Court.

"Lacey gave the veteran effort we've come to expect from her," Delaney said.

Only down by six points at halftime, the Lady Barons kept the fight alive in the second half due to the effort of freshman Sarah Schriner. The guard was the top scorer on the night with 25 points, also going the extra mile on defense to grab five of her seven total rebounds. 

"Sarah was really fearless tonight going to the hoop," Delaney said.  "She did all she could to keep us in the game, leading our second half effort." 

Unfortunately, Schriner's effort was not enough to keep the Lady Barons alive.

Late in the second half, the team had to start committing fouls in order to stop the fast scoring pace of La Roche. The Redhawks were able to capitalize on those opportunities, sinking 27-36 from the free-throw line.

With one regular-season game remaining, the Lady Barons still remain in control of their playoff future as they remain in a tie for sixth place with Mount Aloysius. The Mounties have a tougher road to the conference tournament as they travel to no. 2 Pitt.-Bradford for their last game ,while the Lady Barons take on D'Youville who is also very much alive in the playoff hunt. 

The Lady Barons look to secure their first-ever playoff appearance as they travel to D'Youville College February 21 at 2 pm.