TROY, NY - The Alfred University women's basketball team couldn't come back from their deficit in the second half in a 59-52 loss to Russell Sage College on Saturday afternoon from the Kahl Gymnasium.

The Saxons (11-12, 6-8 Empire 8) won the rebound battle by a 43-41 margin, but the Gators (11-12, 7-7 Empire 8) drew 19 fouls in their win.

AU was led by Gillian Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford), who totaled a team-high nine points and seven rebounds. Grace Rittenhouse (Dansville, NY/Dansville) finished with seven points and six boards. Karly Welty (Portville, NY/Portville Central) stuffed the box score with six points, six rebounds and a team-high three assists.

"I thought this was our most complete game of the year," Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "We didn't make a ton of mistakes today and competed just about every second of every play. It's one of those games where you're certainly disappointed, but as their coach, I couldn't be more proud of the fight we showed from start to finish."

A three-point shot from Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) opened scoring for the Saxons early in the first quarter. A 6-0 run from the Gators was ended by a successful layup from Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell). Four straight points from Welty gave AU a one-point lead with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter. Three additional lead changes had the Saxons trailing 14-13 entering the second quarter. Rebecca Jewett (Nyack, NY/Nyack) hit a three-point shot to tie the game at the 7:02 mark. A three-point shot from Rittenhouse on the next possession gave the Saxons the lead. A 7-0 run by Russell Sage was ended by a layup from Flint. Two quick three-point shots from the Gators to close out the first half left the Saxons trailing 34-29 at the break.

Four consecutive free throws between Jewett and Rittenhouse in the third quarter cut AU's deficit to one point in the third quarter. Russell Sage scored twice before coming away with a 42-37 lead entering the fourth quarter. A jump shot from Flint within the first minute of the fourth quarter had AU trailing by three points. The Gators put together an 8-2 run to distance their lead and prevent the Saxons from making a comeback.  

"We have two tough opponents coming to Alfred next weekend and we're excited to play in front of our home fans two more times this year," Moskowitz said.

Alfred University will next host Nazareth College on Friday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 PM.