STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan women's basketball team carried a five-point lead into the final quarter, but the Lady Barons were not able to contain the visiting Pitt.-Greensburg Bobcats. The Lady Barons were within seconds of clenching their first conference win of the season over Pitt-Greensburg but came up short with a 55-51 loss, Wednesday evening.

Franciscan was off to a slow start in the first quarter scoring only eight points. The Bobcats took the offensive initiative scoring fourteen points, giving them the healthy lead after the first 10 minutes of action.

Franciscan opened the second quarter with several offensive and defensive rebounds from freshmen starters Tessa Crider and Angela Starre. Together, Starre and Crider totaled 15 rebounds. After a tough few minutes, the Lady Barons went on a scoring run, and outscored the Bobcats 14-11 to finish the second quarter, trailing by three points.

The Bobcats' lead slowly decreased as the Lady Barons continued their scoring run, taking the lead with five minutes left in the third quarter. A layup from Starre gave the Lady Barons a six-point lead. Franciscan outscored Pitt-Greensburg 21-13 to close out the third quarter with a score of 43-38.

The Bobcats quickly shortened the lead and took control of the fourth quarter with a quick three-pointer. The Lady Barons answered with a jump shot from Crider, recapturing the lead. Pitt-Greensburg went on a seven-point scoring run late in the fourth quarter. The Lady Barons made a valiant effort but fell to the Bobcats by four points.

The Lady Barons totaled 36 rebounds and shot 35.5% from the floor. Starre led the team in points and rebounds, with 18 points and seven boards.
 Franciscan will host their second AMCC matchup, D'Youville on Saturday, December 1 at 1PM.