UNIONTOWN, Pa. – The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College basketball team came up short in their first game at the USCAA National Tournament on Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Pomeroys fell 78-74 in the opening round of nationals against third-seeded Berea. SMWC is now 13-13 overall and 11-1 against USCAA opponents.

It was the first time this season that the Pomeroys had lost to a USCAA opponent, and it came at the most inopportune time with national title hopes in the minds of the Pomeroys.

Junior Sierra Lopez scored a team-high 18 points, while leading SMWC on the glass with seven rebounds. Freshman Jordyn Lloyd recorded a season-high 12 points and grabbed six boards. The Pomeroys two leading scorers were held in check on Wednesday with junior USCAA Second Team All-American Shelby Parmer scoring eight points and junior Grace Ziegler scoring 10. The two came into the game averaging 14.8 and 15.2 points per game, respectively. Sophomore JaBreena Gardner dished out a game-high five assists.

The Pomeroys jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead in the first minute and half and then took a 19-8 lead with 14:55 on the clock. BC quickly went on an 11-0 run to tie the game up at 19-19 with 11:17 on the clock. The Pomeroys then built up another nine point lead, 29-20, with a 3-pointer by freshman Tara Parmer. BC again though went on a run, and this time it was even bigger than before. BC took off on a 15-1 run to take a 35-30 lead with 3:49 on the clock. The final 3:49 saw the Pomeroys and Bearcats tie things up on three occasions before BC took a 45-43 lead into halftime.

The second half started out as a defensive struggle with the Pomeroys finally breaking the ice at 16:41 on a layup by junior Desiree Irizarry. BC quickly regained the lead on the following possession and never let go of it for the remainder of the game. The Pomeroys would toy with regaining control on several occasions, but couldn't get back out in front of BC. A 55-52 deficit for SMWC at 10:52 became a 63-52 deficit in a matter of minutes, and the Pomeroys needed to answer. The Pomeroys battled in the final eight minutes pulling within five, 77-72, on a layup by Lloyd with 20 seconds left. BC would make a free throw and SMWC would make a layup in the final 20 seconds to give SMWC a 78-74 first round loss in the USCAA National Tournament.

The Pomeroys finished the game shooting 39 percent (30-of-78) from the field, 28 percent (9-of-32) from beyond-the-arc and 63 percent (5-of-8) from the free throw line. In comparison, BC shot 40 percent (31-of-78), zero percent (0-of-8) and 39 percent (16-of-41). BC won the rebounding battle 69-41 which, combined with their many opportunities from the free throw line, led them past SMWC.

The Pomeroys will now play a consolation game tomorrow at 8 a.m. in the main arena on the campus of Penn State-Fayette. The Pomeroys will face the losing team of the #7 Alfred State and #2 Iowa Wesleyan match-up.