Alfred, NY- Alfred State women's basketball took a loss to the La Roche Redhawks, 70-61. After the game, the Pioneers fall to 2-7 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

Kerstin Merritt led the way on offense for Alfred with 17 points while shooting 5-11 from from behind the arc. Following behind, Taylor Benjamin dropped 16 points while controlling the floor with eight assists. Benjamin along with Mary Gibson controlled the boards with 11 and 10 rebounds respectively. Jenna George and Merritt were active on the defensive end tallying two steals each for the Pioneers.

Taylor Searle kicked off the first quarter for the Pios with a layup less than a minute into the action. Merritt put her first three up into the game halfway through the quarter to bring Alfred a 7-5 lead. George wrapped up the quarter with two consecutive layups made with the second one being off a steal.

In the second quarter, the Pios continued to maintain control of the game as they went into half time with a 29-26 lead. Alfred never lost the lead during the quarter. Benjamin chipped in a three-pointer while Gibson tallied two made layups.

The Pios came into the second half aggressive as Merritt hit a shot from long distance while Jordan Niles followed her up with a made layup. After some time, the Pioneers continued fighting to keep their lead. Gibson followed by Benjamin made a layup for a five point lead, 42-39.

The final quarter started with Alfred down 51-46. With less than three minutes remaining, Benjamin made a layup to shorten the gap, bringing the deficit to 58-55. Merritt rallied and hit two back-to-back threes to shorten the gap, but it wasn't enough as Alfred fell 70-61.

The Pioneers head to Buffalo to play the Bengals on Saturday, Decemeber 14th at 2pm.