The Oglethorpe women's basketball team fought hard against Piedmont in the SAA/USA South Classic in Mount Berry, Ga., Saturday, but fell to the Lions in the end, 60-55.

The two teams traded baskets over the first 10 minutes of the game and were tied, 15-15, with 10:13 remaining. However, the Lions went on a 13-3 run over the next five minutes to take a 10-point lead, 28-18. From there, the Stormy Petrels were able to cut the lead down a little bit before halftime, but still trailed by seven, 31-24, at the break. The Petrels were outshot 44-36 percent in the first half and were just 2-for-10 from 3-point range.

In the second half, Oglethorpe immediately went on an 8-2 run to pull to within one, 33-32. Piedmont immediately answered with a 7-1 run to go up, 40-33, but the Petrels answered back with an 8-1 run of their own to tie the game, 41-41. Piedmont again pulled the lead out to five points, 46-41, but from there, a 7-0 Petrel run gave them a lead with under 10 minutes remaining in the game. When freshman guard Quinesha Farmer made back-to-back free throws with 7:23 remaining, the Petrels had a 48-46 lead. However, the Lions went on a 7-1 run of their own to take the lead back, 53-49, with 4:58 left. The Petrels were able to cut the lead to two twice more down the stretch, but that was as close as they would get as they hit free throws down the stretch and held on for the five-point win. The Petrels actually outscored Piedmont, 31-29, in the second half.

For the game, the Petrels shot 36.5 percent to Piedmont's 43.8, and were 3-for-18 from 3-point range to the Lions' 2-for-7. In addition, the Petrels were outrebounded, 36-32. Both teams committed 19 turnovers.

Sophomore guard Emily Buck led the Petrels with 12 points on the day. She also added four assists and two steals. Senior guard Kyana Jenkins and sophomore forward Alana Bentley contributed 10 points each, Jenkins on 4-for-7 shooting and Bentley on 5-for-8. Jenkins added four steals, as well.

The 1-4 Petrels will continue at the SAA/USA South Classic in Mount Berry, Ga., Sunday, when they take on LaGrange at 2 p.m. They will then travel back to Mount Berry on Thursday for their first conference game of the season against Berry.