The Dominican University women's basketball team came up short on Saturday afternoon at the Igini Sports Forum, falling to the Benedictine University Eagles, 65-50.  The Stars shot a season-low 22-percent from the field in the losing effort while Benedictine managed to convert at a 44-percent clip, scoring 38 points in the paint.
 
After Hannah Currant knocked down a bucket for the Stars with 3:57 to play in the first quarter to knot the score at 8-8, the Eagles went on an 11-5 run to close the quarter and open a six-point, 19-13 lead after one quarter.
 
Dominican used an 8-2 run to open the second quarter, evening the score at 21-21 when Alexis Hoskins went coast-to-coast for a layup with seven minutes to play in the first half. The Eagles promptly called a timeout and regrouped defensively, limiting the Stars to just two points the rest of the period and opening a 32-23 lead at the half.
 
After a back-and-forth third quarter that saw the Stars outscore the Eagles 19-18 to chip the Benedictine lead down to 50-42, the Stars' comeback bid ran out of steam, managing just two field goals in the fourth while Benedictine poured in 15 points to seal the victory.
 
Alisha Markley led the Stars with 17 points on 4-for-12 shooting, including hitting on two of her seven attempts from three.  Hoskins added 14 points in the losing effort.
 
For the Eagles, Alex Fanning finished with a game-high 20 points and pulled down ten boards for the double-double effort.
 
With the loss, Dominican slips to 6-3 on the season and 2-2 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC).  The Stars will enjoy a near week-long break before hosting the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff next Saturday, December 15.