FROSTBURG, Md.--Despite a career-high 19 points from junior Emily Maerz, the Hood College women's basketball team (1-7, 0-3 CAC) came up on the short end of a 56-52 decision against Frostburg State University (3-5, 1-2 CAC) Wednesday evening in a Capital Athletic Conference game.

Hood got off to a fast start which was jumpstarted by a Dorrie Mercer layup on Hood's first possession. The Blazers held the Bobcats without a field goal for the first 5:09 of the contest and took an 8-1 lead after Heather Boyce knocked down back-to-back threes. Later in the half trailing 13-10, the Bobcats reeled off 13 unanswered points and assumed a 23-13 advantage with 3:45 to play in the opening half. Hood used solid perimeter shooting to get back into it as Maerz drained three treys in a span of 1:40 to make it a one-point game, 25-24, with 1:51 left. FSU got a pair of late free throws from Kyler Redmond to take a 27-24 edge into halftime.

In the second half, the Blazers endured a scoring slump of about four-and-a-half minutes as the Bobcat lead swelled to 11, 37-26, midway through the period. Hood battled their way back into it and eventually regained the lead at 42-41 on another triple by Maerz at the 7:37 mark. A layup by Rachel Wiley and a pair of foul shots by Maerz on the Blazers' next two possessions put Hood up five.

The lead would change hands five times in the final 3:50. Wiley swished a jumper with 2:38 to go to make it 50-49 Hood, but the Blazers were unable to hang on to the lead down the stretch. A layup by Elizabeth Erickson and a pair of free throws by India Hall put the Bobcats on top 53-50; however Jessica Talley came up with a clutch basket at the other end to cut it to one with 1:31 remaining.

Both teams had a chance to put points on the board with the clock stopped but neither Erickson nor Wiley were able to knock down their foul shots. Erickson grabbed the defensive board after Wiley's second miss with 47 seconds left and Boyce was whistled for a foul on Elaina Hummel. Hummel connected on both attempts from the stripe to make it 55-52 with 40 ticks to go, leaving the door ajar for the Blazers to tie it. A jumper by Talley was off the mark but the Bobcats were unable to snare the rebound, giving the Blazers another chance. Maerz, who had the hot hand from behind the arc all night, was unable to get her triple try to fall and Hall grabbed the board. Dyanna Prater fouled Stephanie Straka who missed her first free throw but made the second to ice the victory for FSU.

Maerz connected on 5-of-8 from downtown and grabbed five rebounds while Boyce got all 12 of her points from long range as well. Wiley finished with nine points, eight boards and five blocks while Prater, Hood's leading scorer, was held to just two points but contributed a game-high 10 rebounds and dished eight assists. Talley chipped in eight points for Hood.

The Blazers return home Saturday to host the St. Mary's College (Md.) Seahawks at BB&T Arena at 2 p.m. in another CAC matchup.