HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University women's basketball team fell to Houghton University on Tuesday evening, 55-46, ending its regular season as it will be the No. 7 seed during the Empire 8 Championship Playoff Tournament.
 
The Saxons (13-12, 7-9 Empire 8) were down early in the contest, 14-8 after the first quarter and 29-19 at half. Despite outscoring the Highlanders (17-8, 8-8 Empire 8) in the second half, it would not be enough to complete the comeback in the fourth quarter. Jaidyn Chest (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield) opened up the fourth quarter scoring for AU with a good layup with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation. That basket started an 11-9 where Chest and Jessica Beehler (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk) each recorded four points, joined by Libby Benner's (Nunda, NY/Keshequa) 3-pointer. One of Houghton's leading scorers, Kayla Camacho scored five of the Houghton points during the Saxon run before her teammates ended the game with a 6-4 Highlander run.

"We played some really good defense and limited a talented team to 55 points. Unfortunately, we gave up a ton of offensive rebounds in the first half and struggled to convert some good looks, leading to a 27-5 run between the first and second quarters," Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "We finished the half strong and gave ourselves a chance, where we came out and completed an extended 17-4 run of our own to cut it. Some timely 3's by them in the fourth quarter pushed their leads back toward double digits and we came up just short. Excited to prepare for a talented Geneseo team this coming Saturday."
 
Jayda L. Felker (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post) led the Saxons with 13 points and was joined by Chest's 11 points. Natalee Collins (Waterville, NY/Waterville) led AU under the board with eight rebounds, splitting offensive and defensive rebounds, 4-and-4. Chest added six defensive rebounds. Felker, Grace Rittenhouse (Dansville, NY/Dansville) and Ava Anastasi (Sanborn, NY/Starpoint) each had two steals while Felker added the Saxons' lone blocked shot.
 
The Saxons assisted on 10-of-17 field goals while the Highlanders helped on 11-of-19 buckets. Houghton turned the ball over 18 times with the Saxons only giving the ball up 13 times. After AU led the game in the first quarter with a 7-2 opening run, the Highlanders went on a 12-1 run that earned them their second lead of the game as the score would not be tied or changed again for the rest of the evening. Both teams were 5-of-19 from 3-point land while AU narrowly held the advantage in the paint, outscoring the Highlanders, 24-22.
 
The Saxons, after clinching the No. 7 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament, will next travel to face the No. 2 seeded SUNY Geneseo Knights (19-6, 14-2 Empire 8) on Saturday, February 22. The time will be determined in a later announcement from the conference. Price of admission is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors and students with ID and free for children under the age of 12 years old.