Women’s basketball falls to NE10 opponent

Luke Gadson – Sports Editor

The Owls fell to a tough in-conference opponent, Saint Rose, at James Moore Fieldhouse. In a game where it seemed like nothing was going their way, the Owls fought to the final whistle. The Owls had moments of success, but it was not enough to overcome the Golden Knights, who beat them 58-30. 

The Owls showed high energy on defense all game despite their shooting struggles on the offensive side. In the matchup with the Golden Knights, the Owls made 2-19 three-pointers and had a field goal percentage of 17%. The Owls also struggled with turnovers all game long, finishing the game with 17 to Saint Rose’s 13 turnovers. Even though the Owls had a rough game, they will not let this affect their attitude as they move forward this season.  

“Obviously, we didn’t shoot very well in our own gym, that’s something we must work on and something that our coaches stressed to us. I know we will be better; we just must play more aggressively. We can’t let teams come into our own gym and take advantage of us,” said forward Ashley Evans, a senior. 

Evans led the way for the Owls on Saturday, shooting 44% from the field and racking up nine points, five rebounds and one block. Defensively, forward Renza Milner was a force. She recorded three blocks in the game. The Owls rebounded the ball well despite their struggles. Forward Rheyna Steinauer came off the bench and grabbed four offensive rebounds; she finished with six total. Guard Jillian Martin was also a force on the boards, grabbing six rebounds to go along with three assists in this matchup. 

Growing together as a team is something talked about by the Owls in their locker room and an aspect of their game they want to improve.  

“We’ve been trying to emphasize growth, moving forward. We’ve been having some issues moving forward with that. So, I think growth is a big aspect of what we’re looking for in ourselves, individually and as a team. We keep emphasizing the importance that it’s one through thirteen and not just the five,” said guard, Julianna Bonilla, a graduate student. 

With their third straight loss, the Owls overall record moves to 2-5 and their in-conference record drops to 1-3. The Owls have another tough opponent in Pace University coming up next, but they know what they must do to get out of this slump.  

“We must be consistent with everything we do, moving forward. This is a hard L, but we’re going to learn and move on from it. We will be ready for Tuesday,” said Bonilla.