The Misericordia University women's basketball team shot just 26% (5-of-19) in the second half as the Cougars lost for the first time this season in conference play, 56-44 at DeSales.

Junior Christine Marks led the visitors with 17 points and seven rebounds. Classmate Jesse Robinson added 14 points and six boards, and senior Courtney Sykes shot 4-of-6 and finished with 10 points.

Misericordia got off to a great start at the beginning of the contest. First Sykes found Robinson, who opened the scoring with a three, before she drained a triple of her own to put MU up 6-0 early.

MU came out with tough defense, allowing just one made field goal- a fortunate banked three-pointer- in the first 12:10 of action, including a stretch of 8:54 without a DSU basket.

However the Cougars also struggled on the offensive end, turning in their own streak of over eight minutes without a hoop. DeSales actually pulled back from 9-4 down in the midst of its nine-minute scoring drought, getting to the free throw line on multiple occasions.

With 5:40 remaining in the first half, Sykes hit another three-pointer to restore a three-point Cougar advantage. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game with 4:52 left before the break, but Marks answered right away with a nice cut to the basket.

DeSales hit the final shot of the half to enter the break with a slim 21-19 lead. The hosts then carried a 10-2 run in the early stretch of the second period, opening up a 31-21 gap.

Marks and Robinson briefly got the Cougars back on track with a pair of free throws each, making the score 31-25 DeSales.

After a DSU three-point play, a Sykes put-back kept MU within seven. With 10:20 to play, Sykes was still feeling it, beating the shot clock from the corner to pull the Cougars to within 10. However, she then picked up her fourth foul and was forced to leave the game.

MU struggled to find a footing late in the game and DeSales kept the gap in double digits the rest of the way, going on to win by a score of 56-44.

Misericordia falls to 7-6, 3-1 with the loss and will look to rebound over the next week with crucial home games against Freedom playoff contenders Manhattanville (January 15) and King's (January 19).