STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Thiel College women's basketball team lost a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game on the road Wednesday to the Franciscan Barons, 83-79.
 
In a game that featured 20 lead changes and five ties, the Barons led the Tomcats 41-36 at halftime. Thiel held a one-point lead four times in the third quarter, but the Barons went up by seven points (70-63) with 4:39 remaining in regulation.
 
The Tomcats took the lead (71-70) with 2:50 remaining when Lexy Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) made a layup. She also cut the lead down to two points twice with less than 30 seconds remaining on a three-pointer and a jumper in the paint, but the Barons went 4-of-6 at the line down the stretch to preserve the conference win.
 
Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Western) led the Tomcats with 23 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. It was her ninth double-double of the season. With her 17 rebounds Wednesday, Johnson moved into third-place on the program's career rebounds list (833), surpassing Thiel Athletic Hall of Famer Amber Bodrick and Amanda Brown who each collected 828 career rebounds.
 
Johnson made 8-of-12 shots from the floor and went 6-for-8 at the charity stripe. She also handed out five assists.
 
Lexy Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) scored a career-high 16 points. Destiny Merriwether (Youngstown, Ohio/East) matched her career-high with 12 points while also contributing nine rebounds. Jessica Wagner (Tionesta, Pa./West Forest) scored a career-best 12 points while also recording eight rebounds and five assists. Shayla Foster (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) chipped in with 11 points.
 
Madison Doan scored a game-high 25 points for the Barons. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Kylie Panizza scored 17 points and led her team with eight rebounds.
 
The Tomcats will host the Penn State Shenango Lions Saturday at Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium. The non-conference game will begin at 1 p.m.