[Women's Basketball] St. Ambrose falls at No. 19 Cardinal Stritch

A late first quarter run derailed St. Ambrose in a 69-51 loss at No. 19 Cardinal Stritch Saturday afternoon.

The Bees shot just 32 percent from the floor, including 29.6 percent in the opening half, in falling to 19-8 overall and 12-6 in the CCAC.

The loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak, also dropped SAU to fifth in the conference, one game out of a tie for third, with two regular-season games remaining.

St. Ambrose led 10-9 on two Mercedes Jackson free throws five minutes into the game, but it took nearly five minutes before the Bees would score again. The Wolves (19-8, 15-3 CCAC) went on a 13-0 run as SAU went 0-for-5 from the floor and committed four turnovers. A Joni Lafary layup with 30 seconds remaining cut the deficit to 22-12 after one.

Back-to-back layups from Gabrielle Koelker trimmed the margin to 27-19 midway through the second period, but Cardinal Stritch scored the next six points on the way to building a 39-24 halftime lead.

SAU never got closer than 15 points in the second half.

The Bees limited the Wolves to 39.3 percent shooting for the game, but could never dig out of hitting just 8-of-27 shots themselves in the first half. SAU also turned the ball over 16 times while forcing just seven CSU turnovers.

Jackson and Candace Finnin were the only Bees to score in double figures, as each finished with 10 points. Madi Epperson scored eight points and Lafary came off the bench to drop in seven points.

St. Ambrose will play its final regular-season home game of the year Wednesday night against Trinity Christian. The Bees will honor their seniors before the Senior Night game tips off at 5:30 p.m. at Lee Lohman Arena.