FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Lady Cougars (4-3) wrapped up their play in the Huntington University Classic against the Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers (5-1) but after an incredibly strong start, fell 60-57.

Opening the game, the Lady Cougars got off to a rocking start firing on all cylinders. Freshman guard Julia Mantyla opened the scoring in the first minute with a three-pointer and Saint Francis was off and running.

The Lady Cougars opened with a 16-0 lead through the game's first six minutes. Their defense was stellar allowing minimum scoring opportunities and not allowing any such momentum to the Grenadiers.

IU Southeast did fight back though in the final minutes of the first quarter, scoring 11 points in the final four minutes to close the deficit to 19-11 as the game entered the second quarter.

Opening the second quarter the Lady Cougars picked up where they left off extending their lead back to 13 points in the opening minutes of the frame. Once again, their defense stepped up and played brilliantly through the frame's first six minutes as the Grenadiers failed to score a point through more than five minutes for the second straight quarter.

The lead grew to as big as 19 points as Saint Francis led 30-11 with just 3:12 left in the first half. Not much more scoring was done the rest of the frame as the game went to halftime with the Lady Cougars leading 33-20.

Opening the second half, the Lady Cougars offense started out strong again but this time the Grenadiers came out scoring early as well.

Saint Francis still led by 10 over three minutes in but IU Southeast continued to chip away closing the deficit to within five points halfway through the third quarter. Not to worry, as the Lady Cougars finished the frame on a high note scoring five unanswered points regain a double-digit lead, ahead 50-40 heading into the fourth quarter.

But opening the fourth quarter, the Grenadiers came out stronger than ever. The Saint Francis lead evaporated from 10 points to one point less than four minutes in, and they were now leading just 52-51 as the game had now become a showdown.

Finally, as the fourth quarter passed the halfway mark, the Grenadiers completed the comeback scoring with consecutive made jump shots to go ahead 55-54 and the Lady Cougars were still trailing with four minutes left to play.

From there, the Lady Cougars never recovered as they lost by three after being outscored 20-7 in the fourth quarter.

Throughout the game, the Lady Cougars shot 41 percent from the floor, 43 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 57 percent from the free throw line. Julia Mantyla led the Lady Cougars in scoring with 17 points while senior forward Cassidy Crawford had a team-leading 11 rebounds and five assists.

The Lady Cougars resume play next Saturday afternoon when they head home to Hutzell Athletic Center for their season home opener and the opening game of Crossroads League play. They will play host to the Bethel University Pilots (4-2) beginning at 1:00 pm.

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.