Cazenovia, NY - The D'Youville Women's Basketball Team started off 2015 on the road and suffered a loss to the Cazenovia Wildcats by the final score of 71-64.

To begin the first half, the Spartan's offense wasn't as overpowering as it was in 2014. With the score tied at 6-6 only 3:50 into the game after an Awilda Murphy (Kenmore, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) made 3-pointer, D'Youville's offense hit a wall. For the next 5 minutes, D'Youville would not score a basket. After getting the score to 13-13 on a Jillian Piniewski (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca) made layup, the offense would stall once again. In the final 6 minutes of the half, D'Youville got back in the game and trailed at the half 27-32.

As the second half got underway, D'Youville's offense once again started slow. Two straight 3-pointers by Awilda Murphy stopped the game from getting out of reach as Cazenovia began to pull away. Down 48-40 with 13:37 remaining in the game, the Spartan's offense woke up to make it a game. Two straight jumpers by Amanda Marcely (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) and an Awilda Murphy layup made the game 50-50.

A made 3-pointer by Bridget Andrews (Amherst, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) gave the Spartans their first lead since early in the first half. For the next three and a half minutes, D'Youville held the lead until the host Wildcats reclaimed their lead until the final whistle, winning the game 71-64.

"As Confucius once said, 'our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall,'" said third year Head Coach Dan Glover.

"For us that means there is going to be bumps in the road, and we have to accept that," continued Glover.

Leading the way on offense for the Spartans was the team's overall leading scorer, Amanda Marcely. With 24 points and a team high 12 rebounds, Marcely recorded yet another double-double, improving on her first season in a D'Youville uniform. 

Awilda Murphy was the team's second leading scorer with 12 points, grabbing 5 rebounds as well. Bridget Andrews had a strong statistical game with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Jean-Ann Korona (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) also scored 8 points and pulled down 9 rebounds with 2 steals and 2 assists. Jillian Piniewski led bench scorers with 6 points and had 5 rebounds to go with 2 blocks.

Moving into their remaining conference schedule, Glover knows that their next game will set the tone for the rest of the season. 

"It's how we respond and prepare for the next game that will define who we are as individuals and as a team and will determine our success this season as we move forward."

The next game for the women come on Wednesday, January 7th at 6pm at Medaille College.