GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College women's basketball team lost a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game to the Franciscan Barons Wednesday at Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium, 63-57.
 
The Tomcats trailed 19-7 at the end of the first quarter but took the lead (32-31) with 2:34 remaining in the second quarter thanks to a 25-12 run. The Barons hit a three-pointer late in the second quarter to hold a 34-32 lead at halftime.
 
Trailing late in the third quarter, Thiel senior forward Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Western) completed a three-point play to force a 45-45 tie. Giana Arnese (Carbondale, Pa./Carbondale) went on to give the Tomcats a one-point edge heading into the fourth quarter when she connected on a free-throw.
 
Down by two points with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation, the Tomcats possessed the ball with a chance to tie or go ahead, but the Barons forced a turnover and went on make 4-of-4 shots from the charity stripe to seal the conference win.
 
Taylor Susany (Struthers, Ohio/Struthers) led the Tomcats with 16 points. She also recorded six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Lexy Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) scored a season-high 12 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Johnson tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She also chipped in with six assists and three steals. Destiny Merriwether (Youngstown, Ohio/East) corralled a season-best 10 rebounds and scored eight points.
 
Felicia MacGillivray scored a game-high 19 points for the Barons. Madison Doan scored 18 points and led all players with 14 rebounds.
 
The Tomcats will compete in the Mauro Panaggio Tournament, hosted by SUNY Brockport, in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Dec. 19-20. Thiel will open the tournament against the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Monday, Dec. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.