BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Thiel College women's basketball team suffered a 67-53 loss Friday to the Nazareth Golden Flyers in the first game of the Betty Abgott Invitational, hosted by Buffalo State at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
 
The Tomcats led the Golden Flyers 37-34 at halftime. However, Nazareth outscored Thiel 33-16 over the final 20 minutes to earn the non-conference win.
 
Jess Vormelker (Orwell, Ohio/Grand Valley) paced the Tomcats with 18 points. She also blocked five shots and grabbed four rebounds. Erin DiFalco (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) added 11 points, nine of which came on three-pointers, and recorded six rebounds. Also for the Tomcats, Taylor Duchon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) scored 10 points and corralled five rebounds.
 
Rachel Benedict scored a game-high 25 points for the Golden Flyers while Sam Sorge netted 20 points. Benedict also tallied 13 rebounds to record a double-double.
 
The Tomcats (1-2) will conclude play in the Betty Abgott Invitational Saturday when they take on the Cazenovia Wildcats in the consolation game at 11 a.m. Cazenovia lost to the host Buffalo State Bengals Friday, 85-51. Skylar Girard paced the Wildcats with 17 points in the loss.