ERIE, Pa. – The Hilbert College women's basketball team suffered its first AMCC loss in two months after they fell 59-41 to Penn State Behrend in the Junker Center tonight. 

Hilbert was out-of-sorts all night and scored the fewest points of the season, falling to 15-2 in AMCC standings.

The Lions (11-13, 9-8) forced 25 Hilbert turnovers and were credited for only three blocked shots, but altered and forced the Hawks into rushed and off balanced attempts.

Kelsi Ebert posted 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to earn her third double-double in points/rebounds.  She was credited with three steals and four assists in her final game played in Erie.

Ashley Repine collected 15 points hitting 6-of-7 shots from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds, four offensive.  Katelyn Proy was one point shy of a double-double netting nine points along with 11 rebounds.

Hilbert closed the day hitting a season-low 27.7 percent from the floor and made only one of 13 attempts beyond the arc.

Behrend shot 33.3% from the field, found six 3-pointers and went 13-of-14 from the charity stripe.  The Lions took advantage of all Hilbert's turnovers and posted 19 points off turnovers.

Behrend won the first quarter scoring battle (13-12).  Ashley Repine connected on 3-of-4 shots in the paint converting one of those buckets into a traditional three-point play.

The Lions opened up the second quarter building a 21-14 lead which forced a Hilbert timeout.  After that break, Ebert drained four free throws which sliced their deficit to three points. 

Behrend anticipated well on defense and came up with three big blocks.  The Lions went the other way in transition and earned a pair of trips to the free throw line, where they went 4 for 4. 

Ebert hit a driving lay-up before Emily Gawlak picked Behrend's pocket and went full court for a pair of free throws, hitting only one (25-21).  After the hosts scored another jumper, Ebert set Galwak up for a wide-open 3-pointer at the top which she drained just before the half-time buzzer.

Hilbert picked up their defensive pressure at the start of the third quarter but the Hawks weren't able to slice into the three point half time deficit. Behrend responded with strong on-ball and full switching defense  which the Hawks didn't react well too.  Hilbert didn't take care of the ball on offense and trailed 42-37 at the start of the fourth quarter.

The Lions took over the game with three consecutive 3-point buckets in the final session and outscored the Hawks 17-4 before the final horn.

The Hawks (18-6 overall) have one game remaining before the AMCC post-season tournament begins.  #1 Hilbert (15-2) will travel to #2 Mt. Aloysius (14-3) this Saturday, February 17 for a 3pm tip.   

The AMCC 1st Round Games will take place next Wednesday with #3 hosting #6 and #4 hosting #5.  The women's basketball team has earned its first Regular Season Championship (regardless of the outcome at Mt. Aloysius) and will host the AMCC tournament as the #1 seeded team February 24 and 25.  The Hawks own the tie-breaker over the Mounties thanks to Hilbert's sweep over Medaille this season.

At this time, there are no live links posted for the road game at Mt. Aloysius February 17.

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawks scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.  Additionally fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the newly created Hilbert College Hawks iOS SIDEARM mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and ITunes.