Steubenville, OH – The D'Youville women's basketball team rebounded back after their loss on Thursday to earn another conference win on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Franciscan Barons by the final score of 68-50.

D'Youville started off red hot from the field. The women built an 11-0 lead through the first three minutes of play with four different Spartans each contributing points. Franciscan would storm back over the next several minutes, cutting the deficit to three as they scored eight unanswered points. Jordan Smith (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) hit a pair of free throws to make it a seven-point lead, followed by a Sara Field (Durhamville, NY/VVS) layup to make it a 19-10 lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Spartans held onto the nine-point lead as they led 26-15.

Darian Evans (Brant, NY/Lake Shore) gave the Spartans a 12-point leave as the second quarter began, further pushing D'Youville in front of the Barons. Only two points were scored over the three minutes as the two teams remained in the deadlock and the Spartans remained up by 10. With 2:07 to go in the half, Magan Magee (Ellenburg Center, NY/Northern Adirondack) made a layup to go up 14 over the Barons. Franciscan hit a jumper with 0:11 left to make it a 12-point game and the teams went into halftime with D'Youville leading 38-26.

The Spartans started slow on offense in the third quarter with just five points in the first 5:58 of play. However, the women managed to keep the Barons at a comfortable distance as the closest they got in the quarter was eight points. Back-to-back threes from Sydney Alton (Hannibal, NY/Hannibal) and Hannah Simone (Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney) pushed the Spartan's lead to 14 with 3:22 left in the quarter. That lead grew to 17, but Franciscan hit a three late as the Barons trailed at the end of three by the score of 54-40.

Continuing their dominance on both ends of the court, D'Youville increased their lead to 19 with 5:34 remaining in the game at 62-43. Franciscan pulled back to within 14 nearing the end of the game, but the Spartans increased their lead back to 18 as they went on their way to their third conference victory of the season, defeating Franciscan 68-50.

Smith once again turned in an outstanding all-around performance for the women, leading the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Alton and Magee each recorded four rebounds and three assists while Alton scored 12 points and Magee scored 11. Monica June (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech) added nine points while Evans scored six with five boards.

Off the bench, Simone and Field each had five points while Kailey Kellner (Coupeville, WA/Coupeville) added two points. Callie Rapant (Alexandra Bay, NY/Lafargeville), Briana Dotterweich (Depew, NY/Depew), Marina Campbell (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Catholic), Kelsey Carpenter (Hilton, NY/Hilton), Morgan Lehman (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove), and CeDrice Howard (University Place, WA/Curtis) all played valuable minutes for the women.

The next game for the women comes on Monday, January 8 as they host the Pitt.-Bradford Panthers at 8:00pm.