ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College basketball team suffered a close 56-54 setback to St. Mary's College of Maryland in a United East Conference contest on Tuesday night at Lees Gymnasium.

The Falcons began the game on a 6-0 run, finished off by a free throw from senior Rachel Bilger (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Dublin) with 5:19 left in the opening quarter. Cedar Crest went onto double up the Seahawks, 8-4, and later build a six-point advantage after a layup from sophomore Caylie Long (Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove) with 3:30 remaining in the first stanza. St. Mary's closed on a 7-0 run to lead 11-10 at the end of one.

The Seahawks opened up an eight-point advantage, 20-12, after a 7-0 run in the beginning stages of the second quarter. The Falcons then embarked on a 13-2 run, capped off with a jumper from first-year Maliya Gonzalez (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) to make the score 25-22 in favor of Cedar Crest. St. Mary's responded with four consecutive points to carry a 27-25 lead into the break.

The Falcons came out of the break hot, netting seven straight points to open up a five-point advantage, 32-27. The Seahawks answered back with a 7-0 run of its re-gain the lead, 34-32. Cedar Crest registered nine consecutive points to give the Falcons a seven-point advantage, 41-34 with 1:09 remaining in the frame. St. Mary's trimmed the margin to four, 41-38, with back-to-back buckets to close the quarter.

The Seahawks outscored Cedar Crest, 10-4, over the first 4:11 of the final quarter to snag a 48-45 lead. A layup from Bilger with 5:23 left in regulation made the score 48-47. St. Mary's created some separation with four consecutive points to stretch the margin to five, 52-47. The Falcons got to within as close as three with 35 seconds remaining before Gonzalez knocked down a triple as time expired to fall just short, 56-54.

Cedar Crest shot 42.9 percent from the floor compared to 37 percent for St. Mary's. The Falcons held a 38-29 edge on the boards, but the Seahawks scored 17 points off 21 turnovers from the home team.

Bilger collected 17 points and six rebounds to pace Cedar Crest. Long followed with 13 points, nine boards, four assists, and two steals. Gonzalez contributed 12 points, seven caroms, and three assists. Senior Francess Suah (Philadelphia, Pa./Constitution) recorded four points, five rebounds, and one steal. Senior Bryanna Rivera (Reading, Pa./Greenfield (Mass.)) registered three points, four boards, and three assists. Sophomore Emily Matoushek (Waymart, Pa./Forest City Regional) tallied three points and one steal, while sophomore Megan Perrine (Mount Vision, N.Y./Gilbertsville-Mount Upton) rounded out the home side of the box score with two points, four rebounds, one block, and one steal.

Junior Samantha Blaylock (Ijamsville, Md.) recorded 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal to lead St. Mary's. Sophomore Olivia Liszt (Baltimore, Md.) was the only other visitor in double-digit points, earning 11 points, five boards, and three assists.    

Cedar Crest (7-8 overall, 5-7 United East) will square off against Rosemont College on Saturday, February 8 at 1:00 p.m. St. Mary's College of Maryland (14-7 overall, 11-1 United East) will next play at Rosemont on Wednesday, February 5 at 5:00 p.