Following a 37-29 lead at halftime, St. Ambrose (22-7, 10-5 MCC) opened the second half on a 21-0 run led by the three-point shooting of Annie Smith and Jenny Clark. The Queen Bees connected on 16 three-point shots in the contest, sending the Saints to their sixth straight loss.
The Saints maintained pace with the Queen Bees' up-tempo, fast-break offense for the first half. Helping the cause was senior forward Shel'si Weaver of Beloit, Wis.
In a game that saw 10 three-point baskets in the first six and half minutes, Weaver connected on her first three shot attempts from beyond the arc to the keep the Saints close. With 5:50 to play in the first half, St. Ambrose increased its lead to ten, representing its biggest lead of the half.
From there, the Saints took advantage of St. Ambrose's poor first-half shooting percentage and cut the lead to 37-29 by halftime.
Weaver and senior Kim Fabry of Oconto Falls, Wis., combined for 20 points in the first half for Ashford.
Mistakes added to the Saints' woes in the second half, and St. Ambrose capitalized by scoring 31 points off turnovers in the contest.
"It was hard to keep up with them with all of the turnovers", said Weaver, who contributed 13 points and eight rebounds in the contest.
Three Queen Bee players reached double figures in points with Clark (17), Ali Dolphin (20), and Smith (23). St. Ambrose attempted 43 three-point shots in the game, connecting for 37.2 percent.
With the loss, Ashford dropped to an overall record of 8-19 with a 2-13 mark in the MCC.
Senior women's basketball players were honored prior to their final game at Kehl Arena by Head Coach Chris Powers, their parents and fans in attendance.
"I have a lot of memories with the girls and (Head) Coach (Chris) Powers," added forward Bethany Mahmens of Goose Lake, who was among those honored on Senior Night. "All of my accomplishments I owe to them."
Seniors honored included Fabry, Weaver, Mahmens, Jessie Rosenow of Erie, Ill., Kelly Fisher of Fremont, Calif., and Heather Hoge of Camanche.
The Saints will look to end the 2009-2010 regular season on a high note on Saturday, traveling to Mt. Mercy College.
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