No. 3 Hope hands Women’s Basketball first loss

HOLLAND, Mich. - The Falcons were downed by the No. 3-ranked Flying Dutch of Hope College on Tuesday night for the Falcons' first loss of the season. Hope improved to 2-0 with the 85-62 victory and CUW moves to 2-1 on the young season.

"When you play the No. 3-ranked team in the country, you are asking your team to do a lot," said head coach Stacey Brunner-Jones. "Hope is a very good team. One thing I was happy about was our fight. Hope had the big run in the second quarter, we could have bailed out, but we came back and continued to make some good plays. I just said to the team that if we can take the positives from this game and learn, I think that we will be back to where we need to be after Thanksgiving break."

The Falcons were able to take the lead early with an 8-2 run to claim the lead at 8-6. Senior Baylee Barker (Oconomowoc, Wis.) scored five of the Falcons first eight points.

Hope claimed the lead the rest of the way.

The Falcons continued to fight in the first quarter and were within five points, after 10 minutes, at 21-16.

The Blue and White were able to hang around with seven three-point baskets in the first half. Junior Arianna Liddicoat (Watertown, Wis.) was a perfect three-for-three from behind the line.

Trailing after thirty minutes, 44-67, the Falcons did not fold and matched the No. 3-ranked Flying Dutch in the fourth quarter, 18-18.

Arianna Liddicoat led the Falcons with 18 points and three steals. Baylee Barker chipped in with 11 points on the evening.

Leading CUW with five rebounds was sophomore Clara Chambers (Mineral Point, Wis.). 10 different Falcons recorded a rebound on Tuesday.

Sophomore Emily Hafemann (Hales Corner, Wis.) notched a career-high five assists at Hope.

CUW has made 10 or more three-point baskets in back-to-back games, having drained 11 at Wisconsin Platteville on Saturday.

Hope improves to 18-2 in its last 20 games at DeVos Fieldhouse.

Senior Francesca Buchanan (Grant, Mich.) led the Orange and Blue with 19 points. Sophomore Kennedy Schoonveld (Zeeland, Mich.) scored 15 points.

The Falcons look to bounce back at Concordia Chicago when they resume NACC action on Nov. 27.