Phoenixville, PA – After trailing almost the entire game, the Patriots attempted a comeback in the concluding minutes but would fall short to the Scarlet Raptors of Rutgers-Camden, 66-55. Valley Forge dropped its fifth straight contest, falling to 2-7 on the season.  

Senior Carlee Conrad led the way for the Patriots with her eighth double-digit game of the season as she collected 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Amaya Brown tallied 12 points and 4 assists, while Alea Flowers followed in pursuit as she secured her third double-double of the season and her second consecutive with 11 points and 10 boards. Cayleen Conrad also dished out 11 points with 4 assists and 3 steals.

"In the first-half we committed unnecessary turnovers which caused us to get into a hole," head coach Gretchen LeVan said. "We knew that in the second-half we had to control the boards and knock down open shots, but it took us until the fourth-quarter to execute our game plan. In the loss, we did have four players that scored double-digits. Our team has the potential for anyone to step up at any time, which makes us dangerous to opposing teams." 

Rutgers scored the first points of the contest with a quick layup and a jumper, however the Patriots found themselves on the board with a trey ball from Kaitlyn Hess and a fast break Amaya Brown layup after a steal from Cayleen Conrad. Down 7-5, Valley Forge took the lead from a Cayleen Conrad three-pointer, but that would be the Patriots final lead of the evening as the Scarlet Raptors took steady control.

With the Patriots shy of only 3 points, the second-quarter took a left turn as the Patriots hit 3-12 from the field, and 1-6 from behind the arc. Rutgers led by 13 points after taking a 10-0 run with 4:33 remaining, but the Raptors struggled to execute its offense, only scoring a total of five additional points to conclude the first-half with a 12-point lead.

Rutgers extended their lead after a 5-0 run to start off the third-quarter. With the Patriots only able to dish out 14 points, the Scarlet Raptors entered the final stanza with an 18-point advantage.

Although it was a slow start, Valley Forge found the hoop first with a three-ball from Carlee Conrad. Rutgers led by a game-high 22 points with 2:30 remaining, but the Patriots would not let up as they made an aggressive effort to rally. The Patriots comeback was fueled a layup from Alea Flowers, followed by a behind the arc shot from Cayleen Conrad. After Flowers went 1-2 from the foul line, Carlee Conrad was fouled on a three-point shot, draining all three from the charity stripe. The Raptors were able to respond with two good free-throws to lead by 15 points with 33 seconds left. Amaya Brown was hot from three-point land, hitting two consecutive shots with less than 10 seconds for a 66-55 final score.

Valley Forge hit 16-58 from the field (27.6%), 9-29 from behind the arc (31%), and 14-23 at the line (60.9%).

The Patriots will look to get back into the win column as they welcome conference foe, Pratt Institute to Phoenixville on Wednesday, January 15^th at 7 p.m.