Elmhurst, Ill. – The Carroll University Pioneers women's basketball team came up short in their comeback attempt against the Bluejays of Elmhurst University Saturday, falling 64-65. Kate Christian led Pio scorers with 17 points, nine rebounds, six steals and four assists. Elizabeth Behrndt shot 7-8 from the floor to finish with 15 points. The Pios couldn't get a shot to fall in the final six seconds after Elmhurst retook the lead.
 
The Pioneers (1-1, 1-1 CCIW) struggled most of the game with scoring consistently, including making only one three-pointer out of 16 attempts. The Pios were able to reach the foul line a game high 26 times, but only made 15 of those attempts. Behrndt and Kayla Stefka (13 pts, 8 reb) took control of the paint, outscoring Elmhurst 46-30. Fouls were troublesome for both programs, with the Pios committing 21, and the Bluejays 26. 17 Carroll points off of 27 Elmhurst turnovers were scored in the contest.
 
The Bluejays managed to clog the paint on the defensive end in the first quarter, leading by as much as 10 in the first quarter. Katie Evans (6 pts, fouled out) came off the bench and added four points to bring the lead down to single digits. Behrndt showed her height in the paint, scoring four of her own. A bucket the first minute into the second quarter by Behrndt cut the lead down to five. Her bucket sparked a 6-0 run for the Pios, and an 8-1 run since the end of the first quarter. Katie Rohner (8 pts, 4-8 FTM) had her own 5-0 run for the Pioneers to cut the lead to one with just under four minutes remaining, but the Bluejays capitalized on turnovers to take back a five-point lead and carried that into halftime.
 
The Pios cut into the Elmhurst lead to start the third quarter with fast break buckets and fighting into the paint. Behrndt broke into double digits after cleaning up the glass on a tip-in. Christian scored six points within the first five minutes, but Elmhurst capitalized at the free-throw line on Pio fouls. Elmhurst separated with a three-pointer, but Stefka's second three-point play of the quarter kept the lead to only four. Stefka added eight points in the third quarter overall.
 
Brooke Foster (5 pts, 5 reb) cut the lead to one after nailing the first three-pointer of the game in the fourth quarter, but Elmhurst responded with one of her own. Behrndt hit her 15^th point to tie the game at 56 with five minutes remaining. Back and forth play brought the game to 58-58 with 3:35 remaining. Stefka took the lead with a driving layup shortly after the tie. A foul gave the Bluejays the lead back before Coach Lindsay Schultz called time with :29 seconds remaining. After timeouts drawing up play calls, Christian drove into the lane and banked it off the glass to take a one-point lead with 10.2 remaining. The Bluejays got their points back with only 5.9 remaining, needing to go the full length of the court. Christian's layup off the inbound fell off the rim as the final buzzer rang.
 
The Pioneers spend two of their next three contests next week on the road, traveling to Carthage on Tuesday, Feb. 2^nd. The Pioneers broke the school record for three-pointers made in a single game against the Lady Reds last season in Van Male Field House.