TOPEKA, Kan. – The Rogers State women's basketball team was unable to recover from a slow start to the third quarter, suffering a 79-62 loss at Washburn on Saturday night in Lee Arena.

The Hillcats (4-7, 0-5 MIAA) were led by Julie Luna, who tied a career-high with 18 points. Katrina Christian and Jordan Lewis also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. In her first career start, Zoey Whiteley dished out a career-high five assists.

RSU trailed by nine at halftime, but Washburn (3-7, 2-3 MIAA) opened the second half with a 13-2 run. Trailing 54-34 midway through the third quarter, the Hillcats posted a 9-0 run in less than two minutes with 5 points from Luna and four from Lewis. A three-pointer by Briana Baker-Bruce and a jumper by Christian with seven seconds left allowed RSU to close the period on 14-3 run, cutting the Ichabods' lead to nine.

Washburn opened the fourth with a 5-0 run and the Hillcats were unable to pull any closer.

RSU trailed 19-18 after a back-and-forth first quarter before being held to 34% in the second. The Hillcats committed a season-low eight turnovers, while forcing 15, led by four steals from Luna.

RSU concludes the road trip on Monday afternoon in Emporia, Kan. with a MIAA matchup against Emporia State. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Listen to the game live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.