The Keuka College women's basketball team traveled to Alfred University for a non-conference clash Friday night, and the Wolfpack suffered a 68-52 setback inside the Terry S. Galanis Gymnasium in Alfred, N.Y.

Junior Mackenzie Cole (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) scored nine points with four rebounds, while senior Erica Pendrak (New Hartford, N.Y./New York Mills) added 8 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists for the Wolfpack (0-3).

Sophomore Katie Stuart (Tupper Lake, N.Y./Tupper Lake) tallied eight points with five rebounds, and senior Brittany Hadley (Jasper, N.Y./Jasper-Troupsburg) added 7 points with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for the Green and Gold.

Cole scored all nine of her points on 4 of 4 shooting in the first half, while sophomore Samantha Blum (Niskayuna, N.Y./Colonie) added 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in the loss.

Keuka shot 37.7 percent (23-for-61), while Alfred (1-3) shot 43.9 percent (25-for-57).

"I think we struggled defensively, especially early on," first-year head coach Sarah Gaffney said.

"We gave up far too many points in the first half, especially in transition, and that was a big key to the game for us, stopping transition points. We weren't patient with our offense at all and we had a lot of turnovers. We didn't value the ball, which is something we want to do every game. I think we played really hard, we played together, we rebounded pretty well and we pushed the ball. We were able to score in transition tonight."

Trailing 35-31 heading into halftime, freshman Meqala MacDonald (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) hit a layup and Pendrak added a fast-break layup to make the score 37-36.

Alfred responded with a 5-0 run, but Blum ended the run with a jumper as the Wolfpack trailed 42-38.

Stuart then knocked down a bucket in transition, and Hadley added a jumper to trim the deficit to 49-42 with 12 minutes remaining, but the Saxons answered with a 13-4 run to take a 55-42 lead with 9:30 remaining.

Keuka went without a basket for more than five minutes. Stuart drove the lane and hit a layup to end the scoreless drought, and Hadley hit a '3' from the wing as Keuka closed within 56-48 with 5:50 remaining, but the Saxons used a 12-2 run to pull away for the win.

Eight different student-athletes scored during the first half for Keuka, which shot 43.8 percent from the floor. The Wolfpack enjoyed a 22-17 edge in rebounding in the first half, including 8-5 on the offensive glass.

Cole hit back-to-back baskets to put the Wolfpack up 15-11, but the Saxons responded with a 16-2 run and took a 27-17 lead before the Green and Gold closed out the half on a 14-8 run.

Keuka trailed 35-23 with two minutes remaining, but junior Meghan Ideman (Moravia, N.Y./Moravia) hit a pair of free throws, Blum hit a layup and Pendrak had a steal and made the transition layup as the Wolfpack closed the half on a 6-0 run.

The Wolfpack travel to RIT for a 6 p.m. non-conference clash Monday night.