ALBION, Mich. – Albion College whittled an eight-point halftime deficit to two on three occasions in the third quarter, but it never seized the lead as it wound up with a 53-45 loss to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at Kregse Gymnasium Friday night.

First-year guard Jay Bard knocked down a jumper to pull Albion within two, 37-35, with four minutes left in the third quarter. Albion misfired on its last four shots of the quarter and Kristen Belyea scored four of her 10 points as the Engineers pulled away to a 43-35 lead by the end of the quarter.

Rose-Hulman extended the margin to 10 on the first possession of the fourth quarter as it grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and Josie Schmidt eventually scored. Albion never got closer than five the rest of the way.

"We have to find ways to get over the hump," Albion Head Coach Doreen Carden said after her team fell to 0-2 to start the season. "It starts with getting stops on the defensive end.

Schmidt blocked Albion's first two shots of the night as the Britons learned it did not match up well in the frontcourt.

"They were a lot bigger and it was tough to go inside," Carden said. "We weren't doing much from the outside. We did a better job of getting position in the second half."

Darian Payne, Albion's senior presence in the post, scored eight of her 13 points in the second half. She completed the double-double with 12 rebounds.

Olivia Savage was the most effective Briton in the backcourt, producing 15 points by knocking down 4-of-6 shots from the field.

Albion will go in search of its first victory of the season at 3 o'clock Saturday when it takes the court against Illinois Wesleyan University.

"This good competition will have us well prepared to take on our Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rivals," Carden said.