Oskaloosa--The Lady Statesmen basketball team struggled from the field in a 79-53 loss to #12 St. Ambrose in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Wednesday.

Penn (10-9, 2-3 MCC) had troubles out of the gate, trailing 10-0 early and never rebounded, eventually losing the shooting battle 44.8%-29.8%.

The Lady Statesmen trailed 44-24 at the break, but battled to cut into the deficit to 14 points with an 8-2 run after intermission. Unfortunately, the momentum stopped there as the Queen Bees (17-3, 5-1 MCC) cruised to the win.

Christa Subbert (Jr., Stanton, Stanton HS) led the hosts with 11 points, including going 4-4 at the free-throw line.

Carleigh Hobson (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Antelope Valley CC) also reached double digits as she posted ten points off the bench in addition to a squad-high three steals.

Nancy Chicas (Sr., San Francisco, Calif., San Mateo CC), Rachel Butler (Jr., Anaheim, Calif., Cerritos CC), and Raven House (So., New Orleans, La., Cabrini HS) all finished with six points in the loss. Chicas also paced her team with four assists, while Butler pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.

Ashton Perez (Jr., Wildomar, Calif., Riverside CC) contributed five points and matched Butler with seven boards.

Next: Penn travels to Cedar Rapids Saturday to face Mount Mercy in MCC action at 1 p.m.