In spite of putting up a valiant fight, the Spring Arbor University women's basketball team fell to the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana by a score of 69-77 yesterday.

SAU played well and had eight different players score in the game.  The Lady Cougars were led by freshman Melissa Tejkl's 19 points.  Seniors Lyndsey Norman and Kara Buehrer chipped in with 13 and 11 respectively, while Courtney Smith, Kristen Miller and Sarah Wellman each contributed seven markers.

Spring Arbor shot the ball at a respectable clip (26-57 - 46%) for the game, but were unable to keep USF from getting good looks on the defensive end of the floor.  The host Cougars converted on 28 of their 53 attempts for the game, good for 53%.  SAU also lost the battle for the boards (23-15) and committed three more turnovers (18-15) than USF.  The Lady Cougars were effective launching the three ball however, as 8 of 16 attempts throughout the game found paydirt.

"It was a few little things that kept us from having a chance to win this game," commented SAU head Coach Tara Kreklau.  "We made too many turnovers at inopportune times and St. Francis made us pay for it.  We also allowed them too many offensive rebounds."

Spring Arbor returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Upland, Indiana to take on the Taylor University Trojans.