PITTSBURGH, PA (November 8, 2024) - The Susquehanna University women's basketball team opened their season with a defeat to St. John Fisher 77-64 in their first game of the Chatham University Tournament. 

It was a tough game on offense for the River Hawks but their best quarter offensively was in the first, where they shot 34.78% from the field and hit their only two three-pointers all game long, both from Sydney Weyant. They led 20-16 after the first quarter but followed that up by shooting just 2-15 (13.33%) from the field in the second. However, they hit eight of their 10 free throws in the quarter and held the Cardinals to 4-14 shooting (28.57%) in that same time to lead 32-30 at halftime. 

Susquehanna kept that lead intact midway through the third quarter, leading 42-37 with 5:59 remaining, but St. John Fisher went on a 13-6 run to close out the third and take a 50-48 going into the fourth. The Cardinals kept their foot on the gas all quarter long as they shot 7-12 (58.33%) from the field and 11-13 (84.62%) from the free throw line, winning the fourth 27-16 to make the final score 77-64. 

The big reason for the loss for the River Hawks was their three-point shooting as they shot 2-22 (9.1%) all game and managed just 30.7% from the field. Individually, Julia Roth shot 9-17 and 8-8 from the free throw line for 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Weyant came off the bench to drop 11 points and grab six rebounds. However, no other player cracked double-digit points as Julia Pinckert came the closest to doing so with nine points on 4-13 shooting. 

Susquehanna starts the season 0-1 but return to action tomorrow Nov. 9 at noon against Penn College for their second game of the Chatham University Tournament.