BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Medaille College women's basketball team took on AMCC rival Penn State Behrend at the Sullivan Center. The Mavericks put up a great fight against the top conference opponent, but fell short losing 56-67. The Mavs fall to 8-11 on the season and 3-7 in conference play.

The first quarter started aggressive featuring a full court press defense from the Lions. The Mavs handled the pressure well as Morgan Kennedy (Philadelphia, PA, West Catholic Prep) snagged an offensive rebound and scored the first points of the game. The Lions were quick to respond with a three and jumper before Kennedy scored on another layup. The Mavs held their ground as Behrend tried to pull ahead by four points. Ariea Garrett (Cleveland, OH, Beaumont) scored in the paint and Xaneya Thomas (Binghamton, NY, Binghamton) found an open lane to tie the score at 15 to end the quarter.

The Lions hit an early three and another jumper to try to jump start their offense. Shyanne Trinh (Dorchester, MA, Stoughton) came up big with a steal and a layup while Garrett chipped in another bucket in the paint. Kennedy continued to play tough in the paint and hit both free throws as the Mavs trailed 26-28 with a minute to play. Erin Hardick (Buffalo, NY, Sacred Heart) jumped the passing lane to steal the ball leading to a deep three by Trinh for a Maverick lead. The Lions managed to move the ball quickly and score at the buzzer to go up 30-29 into halftime.

The third quarter was a defensive battle where it took almost three minutes for either team to score. Kennedy made the first layup but Behrend responded with one of their own. The Lions began to pull ahead slowly but the Mavs were not out of the game. The quarter ended with Penn State Behrend leading 48-36.

Desmonique Veal (Buffalo, NY, City Honors) had a strong quarter of play scoring ten points for the Mavericks under heavy pressure. Despite a strong effort from Medaille, the Lion shooters caught fire with five three pointers in the quarter to extend their lead. Kennedy and Garrett found success in the paint before time expired with a 56-67 Medaille loss.

As a team, Medaillle shot 22-51 (43.1%) from the field, 1-5 (20%) beyond the arc, and 11-13 (84.6%) at the free throw line. The Mavs had 42 total rebounds and ten steals with 38 points coming from in the paint.

Kennedy led the way with 19 points going 7-13 and 5-5 from the free throw line with eight rebounds. Veal recorded 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds followed by Garrett with 11 points and eight rebounds. Trinh added seven points and Hardick led with eight assists while grabbing five rebounds.

The Mavs will look to bounce back with a home game against Alfred State College on Monday, January 31. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.