BATAVIA, Ohio – The ninth-ranked Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College women's basketball team improved to 6-7 on the year with an 80-72 victory over Cincinnati Clermont on Thursday.

Freshman Callan Taylor led a group of four that scored in double figures against the Cougars, with 16 points. Half of Taylor's points came from the free throw line as she went 8-of-9, making eight in a row. Seniors Shelby Parmer and Grace Ziegler both notched 13 points, while junior Ja'Breena Gardner recorded 12 points. Senior Sierra Lopez recorded her first double-digit rebound performance of the season with 10 boards. Defensively, freshman Lily Freese recorded a game-high four steals and junior Bria Hill recorded two blocks in her SMWC debut.

The Pomeroys jumped out to an 8-1 start before the Cougars came roaring back to take a 13-12 lead with 3:13 minutes to play in the first quarter. The Cougars led the final 3:13 of the quarter as Gardner hit a jumper to pull SMWC within one, 20-19, to close out the first 10 minutes of play.

In the second quarter, the Pomeroys regained the lead two and half minutes into the second quarter off of a Parmer three-pointer. The quarter was tight throughout, with the Pomeroys again scoring the last basket of the quarter as Ziegler made a layup to send SMWC to halftime with a two point deficit, 39-37.

The Pomeroys excelled in the second half, outscoring the Cougars 21-14 in the third and 22-19 in the fourth. SMWC led by as many as 14 with 3:36 to play in the game and were able to hold off a Cougar comeback with a three-pointer by junior Mikayla Kinneer and a pair free throws by Taylor.

The Pomeroys will now head to Wilberforce University tomorrow to face the Bulldogs in a 6 p.m. start.