BUFFALO, N.Y. – The D'Youville University women's basketball team was defeated 58-56 by Saint Michael's College in their home opener on Saturday afternoon.
 
Junior Morgan Giancaterino (Orchard Park, N.Y.) led the charge for the Saints on offense, scoring a career-high 18 points. She also made an impact on the defensive end, grabbing five rebounds and tallying two steals and two blocks. Senior Anna Jankovic (Averill Park, N.Y.) recorded a double-double for the second consecutive game with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Samantha Ruhlman (Warren, Pa.) did a good job facilitating the offense, leading the team with four assists, and chipped in a career-high eight points.
 
DYU got out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of layups from senior Sofie Fuglsang (Oberanven, Luxembourg), but Saint Michael's responded with ten straight points to go ahead 10-4. Five straight points from Giancaterino cut it to a 12-11 deficit and Ruhlman followed with two mid-range jumpers to give the Saints a 15-14 lead heading to the second quarter.
 
Fuglsang cashed in a three-pointer to open the second quarter and widen DYU's lead to four. Freshman Kaitlyn Mankins (Greensburg, Pa.) found junior Isabella Kostyal-Larrier for a three-ball to begin a ten-point run for the Saints. A three-pointer and layup from Jankovic and a layup from Giancaterino capped off the run and DYU found themselves with a 30-18 lead with four minutes to go in the half. A steal from Kostyal-Larrier led to a transition layup for Jankovic and the Saints went to halftime with a 36-23 advantage.
 
The Purple Knights came out firing to start the third quarter, scoring eight straight points and preventing DYU from scoring a point over the first five minutes. A layup plus a free throw from Giancaterino got the Saints on the board at the 4:50 mark and put a momentary stop to the momentum. Giancaterino then found Kostyal-Larrier for a three-pointer to make it 42-33 with 3:55 remaining in the quarter. Saint Michael's was able to close the gap to seven as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
 
Giancaterino converted from beyond the arc to make it 49-43 in the early stages of the final frame. However, nine straight points from the Purple Knights put them ahead 52-49 with 6:55 left to play. A layup from Jankovic kept the Saints within one with just over three minutes remaining. Giancaterino then nailed a three-pointer to level the game at 56-all with 1:40 to go. Saint Michael's hit a layup with 1:11 remaining to go ahead 58-56 and were able to hold off DYU for the victory.
 
D'Youville falls to 1-2 with the loss and will be back in action next Thursday when they face Lake Erie College on the road.