LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – The University of Saint Mary women's basketball team suffered a 61-58 loss to Friends University on a buzzer beater at home.

The Spires are now 2-10 overall and 2-6 in the KCAC.

Saint Mary got off to a great start as Danielle Cassady set up the offense and found Dakota Corle at the free-throw line who sank a ten-foot jumper. Both teams would trade baskets throughout majority of the first quarter until Cassady drained a three-pointer that was followed by another basket from Corle to give the Spires a 16-12 lead at the end of the first.

Much like the first play in the opening seconds in the first quarter, Cassady passed to Corle and she scored to put the Spires up 18-12. The Falcons gained some momentum and scored six straight points, but Saint Mary responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Nese Selepeo and Macy Walker. The Spires had a hot quarter shooting as they went 4-for-5 from the three-point line and 5-for-9 from the field and led 31-23 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Friends inched their way back into the game and tied the game up 38-38 after a USM turnover. Rebecca Gilpin would then knock down back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Spires ahead 47-42 to end the third quarter.

In the final quarter, Walker hit a deep three to expand the lead to seven with just under eight minutes to play. A pair of three-pointers and a free-throw moments later from the Falcons quickly tied the game up 50-50. After some traded baskets, Cassady hit a big three-pointer to give USM the lead with just two minutes left to play. Friends had the ball with less than :30 seconds to play but would turn it over after throwing it out of bounds to give Saint Mary a chance to score. After a fumbled ball in the paint, the Falcons threw it up the court, and chucked up a three-pointer that would hit all sides of the rim before falling in as the buzzer went off to win the game.

As a team, USM shot 46.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line. Walker led the team in scoring with 15 points, while Corle put up 14 points. Cassady was just shy of a triple double as she had 11 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.

UP NEXT
The Spires will return to action on Dec. 11 where they will face Kansas Wesleyan University inside Ryan Sports Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.