The Spring Arbor University women's basketball team kept pace with the NAIA #4 ranked Bethel College Pilots for the first half of play in the Spring Arbor Fieldhouse tonight, but could not sustain the momentum and fell victim to the hot shooting Lady Pilots in the second stanza, falling 58-85.

Tristen Smith (right) led the Cougars offensively, pouring in 16 points. Teammates Jen Moor and Kristen Miller added 12 and 10 points respectively. Moor also snagged a game high seven boards in the contest.

Spring Arbor was able to keep pace with the high powered offense of the Pilots in the first half, but were dealt a severe blow when leading scorer Lyndsey Norman went down with a knee injury near the end of the period. Norman had seven points and four boards in her 12 minutes of play. To make matters worse, the Cougars were already playing without starting point guard Kara Buehrer who was sitting out with an ankle injury, forcing Norman into duties at the point.

Down nine points at half, the Cougars could only watch as the Pilots pulled away with some very hot three point shooting in the second period. Bethel shot 50% from the floor for the game and were 40% on their three point attempts. Spring Arbor responded by shooting 39% from the floor and 33% from behind the arc.

"There were some bright spots in spite of the result tonight," commented SAU head coach Tara Kreklau. "Tristen played very well, as did Jen. Playing without two of our top offensive players and against the #5 ranked team in the country is a tall order. I am proud of the effort that the ladies gave tonight."

The Cougars won't get much of a respite, as they travel to the University of St. Francis on Saturday to face of with the USF Lady Cougars. USF is currently ranked #3 in the NAIA top 25 polls. The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m.