PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Hilbert College struggled through a slow first quarter and ultimately slipped in a 58-56 loss to La Roche College in women's basketball this afternoon.

The Hawks (3-1) suffered their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss to the Redhawks who improved to 2-1 in league action.

Kelsi Ebert, who was credited with seven assists this afternoon, became the women's basketball program's All Time leader and currently sits at 256 after a three and a half seasons.

The Hawks outscored La Roche by nine in the second quarter and two in the fourth after they matched offensive efforts in the third quarter (21-21). 

Ashley Repine, who earned her second career collegiate double-double, added 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Hawks edged the Redhawks 49-47 on the glass.  Ebert finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in another full forty-minute contest.  

Hilbert's pressure defense earned 11 steals with Emily Gawlak gathering game-high honors (4) while chipping in 10 points.

La Roche jumped out to a 17-4 lead after just 10-minutes of action.  The Hawks went 1-16 from the floor and committed six turnovers in that time frame.  Hilbert regrouped and outscored the hosts 15-6 slicing the difference to just four points by the break.  Maegann Mein tossed all of her six points in the second session helping the Hawks close the gap by intermission.

Neither team shot the ball well in the first half with La Roche holding a slight edge 27% to 22%.

After Repine scored the first bucket just 28 seconds into the third quarter, the Hawks trailed 23-21.  La Roche extended their lead back to seven points on several occasions and maintained a two-to-three possession lead throughout the third quarter even as both teams put 21 points on the score board. 

Repine and Katelyn Proy each netted in the paint pitting the final session at 44-40.

After La Roche sank one free throw at the start of the fourth, Hilbert made a run.  Repine scored on a put-back rebound and Abbey Monahan stopped and popped in transition to trim the difference to one-point (45-44), for the first time in the game.

As Hilbert made their come-back run, La Roche knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers stretching their lead back to five points.  Proy's lay-up and Ebert's free throws helped the Hawks inch closer at 51-50 but another La Roche lay-up extended the hosts lead again.

Repine took a Monahan-pass to the rim and Ebert lifted Hilbert on top for the first time all day 54-53.  Two Hilbert turnovers later, La Roche went up by three again with 1:07 left in the game.  Repine converted another offensive rebound into two points and Hilbert had to foul at the end of the game, hoping to get another look offensively.  La Roche sank only one free throw before time expired.

Each team shot 34% from the floor, but Hilbert made only 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.  The Hawks, who shot 75% from the free throw line (9-12) fared much better than La Roche's 3-for-10.

Hilbert has break from games as the Hawks complete their fall semester final exams this coming week.  The 3-1 Hawks will host Franciscan December 16 in their final game in 2017.

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.