Bethany 67, Franciscan 49  

Franciscan Starters 
Clare McGahan, Natalie Conner, Angela Starre, Victoria Unnerstall, and Selena Coronis  

Bethany Starters 
Abbey Dobbins, Courtney Walker, Kelsie Meintel, Nikki Bradbury, and Mackenzee Mason 

How It Happened 
The Franciscan Women's Basketball team started off its 2021 campaign by falling to Presidents' Athletics Conference (PAC) foe Bethany, 67-49. The Barons were led by Angela Starre who recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Selena Coronis also had a standout performance, scoring 15 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. 

The Barons jumped out to an early lead after a pair of foul shots from Ashley Benson put the Barons ahead 9-7. Coronis would then storm to the basketball for a layup, stretching the lead to four. Victoria Unnerstall would convert four straight free throw opportunities building the lead to seven to close out the first quarter. Starre would start the second quarter with a bang, connecting on a corner 3-pointer, to put Franciscan ahead by 10 points. After trading baskets for most of the second quarter, Bethany would go on 7-0 run to pull within two-points with just over a minute remaining in the half. Sophie LaRose would hit a deep 3-pointer, as the shot clock expired to put the Barons ahead by five. The Bison would connect on a pair of free throws before the half, but Franciscan headed to the locker room with a 31-28 lead. 

Bethany would start the second half strong, opening the third quarter on an 11-2 run. The Bison shot 9-18 from behind the arc in the second half, lead by Nikki Bradbury who connected on seven 3-pointers. The Barons tried to battle back, closing back in five points heading to the fourth quarter, thanks to a couple of baskets from Coronis. A 14-0 run by the Bison to start the fourth quarter, put the game out of reach as the Barons fell 67-49.   

Inside the Numbers 

- Angela Starre started her season off strong, recording a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Starre has now score 502 career points. 
- Selena Coronis scored a team high 15 points, shooting 7-13 from the field
- Seven different Barons made there first appearance, including Victoria Unnerstall and Natalie Conner making their first career starts 
- Bethany held a slight edge on the glass, holding a 42-41 rebounding advantage
- The Bison led by Nikki Bradbury who scored 23 points, connecting seven times from behind the arc 

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will have a week off before they host Geneva next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. This will be the Golden Tornadoes first game of the season, with their game scheduled for January 23rd against Westminster being postponed.. The Lady Barons are 2-5 all-time against the Golden Tornadoes with a win coming last season. Geneva made the trip to Steubenville last year on January 2nd and fell to a score of 74-67. Geneva went 3-21 last season, 2-14 in the PAC, but they have brought in a huge class of eight freshmen hoping to improve upon last years win total.  

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