Cresson, Pa. -- Mount Aloysius women's basketball suffered a narrow conference defeat this Wednesday, January 3rd against the Carlow Celtics. 

Although freshman forward Molly Kosmack (Homer City, Pa., Homer-Center) posted one of her strongest performances of the season, earning a 32-point 16-rebound double double, turnovers would define the game. The Mounties struggle against the press and the swarming perimeter defenders of the Celtics, giving up the ball 33 times. In contrast, the Celtics would commit just 12 turnovers, with the Mounties earning only four points off those turnovers. Although the Celtics controlled the perimeter on both sides, they had no answer for the Mountie interior presence. Mount Aloysius would grab 23 more rebounds than their opponent for the game, and Carlow would fail to record a block across the forty minutes of action. 

The Mounties opened the game strongly, moving the ball effectively, shooting efficiently, and taking a 16-point lead after fifteen minutes of action. In the final five minutes of the half the struggles would start, where a stretch of five Mountie turnovers in a minute and a half would cut the hosts' lead to six.

Shaken by difficulties with ball security, the Mountie shooting percentages would take a nose dive in the second half. After maintaining an efficient 53% mark from the floor across the first half, Mount Aloysius would shoot just 29% in the second, while going 0-8 from behind the arc. These issues would come to a head late in the game, where a late foul would earn Carlow their first lead of the game with 40 seconds left on the clock. Late shots would not fall for the Mounties as the Celtics continued to make their free throws, ending the game in a 62-64 loss for the home team. 

Mount Aloysius women's basketball travels to New York this Saturday, January 6th, to take on the Alfred State Pioneers in another AMCC matchup. Alfred State enters the contest 3-9 overall and 2-3 in conference, coming off a 55-67 loss to Penn State Altoona.