(LAS VEGAS, Nev.) - The 25th-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team fell, 60-50, to 14th-ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls today (Wednesday, December 28, 2011) in its opening game of the D3hoops.com Classic at South Point Casino Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With the loss the Saints fall to 8-2 and with the win, the Falcons improve to 11-0.

River Falls jumped out to an early, 4-0, lead when Tiffany Gregorich made one-of-two free-throws with 16:48 to play in the first half.  Thomas More answered with a 6-2 run to tie the game at 6-6 with 15:25 to play in the half when sophomore guard Katie Kitchen (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made a three-pointer.  The Falcons responded with an 8-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Alise Holst to take a 14-8 lead with 10:25 to play in the opening half.  The Saints used a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 14-13 with 6:41 to play in the half when junior forward/center Katie Kees (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) made a lay-up.  River Falls closed out the half on a 14-6 run capped by two free-throws by Gregorich with 17-seconds to play in the half to extend the lead to 28-19 at halftime.

The Falcons opened the second half on a 15-2 run to extend the lead to 43-21 with 12:58 to play in the game when Holst made a lay-up.  Thomas More answered with a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 45-35 with 6:42 to play in the game when freshman forward Jenny Burgoyne (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) made a lay-up.  Falcons responded with a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 51-35 when Maranda Dohrn made a lay-up with 4:15 to play in the game.  The Saints answered with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 51-42 with 2:05 to play in the game when sophomore guard Devin Beasley (Burlington, Ky./Conner) made one-of-two free-throws.  River Falls closed out the game on a 9-8 run for the 60-50 victory.

Junior guard Allison Long (Hebron, Ky./Conner) was the lone Saint to reach double-figure scoring as she scored 12 points.  Long also led the team in assists two and steals with six.  Kitchen led the team on the boards with eight rebounds.

The Saints will return to the court in Las Vegas on Friday (December 30) when they play Simpson College at 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST.