A slow start proved costly for the Tompkins Cortland women's basketball team on Wednesday. The Panthers traveled to Jefferson Community College and came home with an 80-60 loss to fall to 3-8 overall and 2-5 in the Mid-State Athletic Conference. Jefferson is now 9-5 overall and 4-2 in the MSAC.

The first quarter was the problem for the Panthers. Jefferson scored the first 11 points of the game and the Panthers finished the period in a 22-6 hole. The second quarter was even with each team scoring 19 points, and the second half was nearly even, with Jefferson holding a single-point advantage in the third and a three-point advantage in the fourth.

Madison Kelly (Moravia/Moravia H.S.) paced the team with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Karissa Wilbur (McGraw/McGraw H.S.) had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Thea Holdman (Singapore/International Community School) finished with 11 points and 6 boards.

Looking ahead

The Panthers have a pair of road games this weekend, starting with Saturday at SUNY Broome and finishing on Sunday at Onondaga Community College.