ELSAH, ILL. -- Tonight the Principia College women's basketball team tip-offed in their first game of the new year against conference opponent Blackburn College.  Having beat the Lady Beavers twice in the previous season, Principia was looking to continue the sweep.  Shooting woes however kept the Panthers from finding a rhythm in the 1st half, as they hit just 3 of their 24 shot attempts from the field.  The ice was finally broken about 7 minutes in, and the Panthers added a few free throws to the total (Principia made just 9 of their 15 attempts from the charity stripe in the 1st half).  But solid and scrappy defense kept the Lady Panthers constantly within range, ending the half down 15-20.

The 2nd half, while showing improvement, also showed many areas in which the Panthers need to improve.  The solid defense continued, and the offense improved (Prinicpia increased their field goal percentage by 29%) but turnovers and missed free throws allowed Blackburn to increase their lead.  With a final score of 42-61, Principia dropped their 2nd game of this year's conference schedule.  Despite the loss however, Principia continues to improve, and looks forward to playing next Tuesday.  Standout performances in tonight's game include great interior defense from sophomore forward Karina Olsen (she had 9 defensive boards and 6 blocks on the night), the ever-consistent play of senior captain Sarah Corbitt, and a breakout game from sophomore forward Tory Silver who scored a career high 7 points and added 4 rebounds.

As mentioned above, Princpia plays next on Tuesday, January 8th against conference opponent Spalding University.  The Panthers play in Louisville, KY at 6 pm EST.