The Buena Vista women's basketball team opened the Just a Game Classic on Wednesday afternoon in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., but couldn't overcome a 21-point second-half deficit as the team was dealt a 79-69 loss to Ashford University (6-4).

The game was tight throughout the first half with neither team able to really build much of a lead more than three points.  It was a 20-20 contest midway through the period and BVU did have a 24-23 lead with 7:16 left.  Ashford then scored six straight points to build a 29-25 lead and led by as many as seven before taking a 37-32 lead int the half.

BVU struggled to start the second half, going nearly four minutes without scoring a point as Ashford built a 43-32 lead.  That lead grew to 57-41 with 11 minutes left and the Saints were able to maintain that lead for virtually the remainder of the way.  The Beavers, trailing by 21 with just over three minutes to go, did close the game strong with a 16-5 run, but it was too-little-too-late.

Playing for the first time since a December 2 road victory at Martin Luther College, the Beavers did manage to shoot the ball well, going 40.3 percent from the field, including a strong 10-of-26 effort from long range.

Senior Lexi Fisher led all scorers with 20 points, including a 5-of-9 showing from downtown.  She currently sits fifth on the program's all-time list with 119 three-point buckets and is 15 shy of matching Tracy Hartwig (2003-07) for fourth.

Sophomore Sidney Beckman added three buckets from beyond the arc finished with 11 points, while senior Shelby Wiederhoeft also added 11 points to go along with her team-high eight rebounds.  She needs only 14 boards to reach 750 in her career and 25 points for 900.

Freshman Jasmine Demers just missed out on double-figures, turning in eight points while grabbing five rebounds.

The one area that may have hurt BVU in the contest was at the free-throw line where the team connected on just 9-of-19 attempts.

The Saints had four players in double figures and finished the game shooting 47.5 percent, including 7-of-13 from downtown.

Buena Vista, now 5-4 on the year, will look to bounce back on Thursday afternoon when it tips-off against Olivet Nazarene at 1:30pm to conclude the Holiday Classic.