NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team set a new season-high for points scored in an 88-71 home defeat to UW-River Falls on Saturday.

The Knights started strong, but the Falcons finished the first quarter with a 23-15 lead and held a 42-35 advantage at the half.

UWRF began to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring MLC 24-18 with the help of a pressure defense that forced 27 MLC turnovers for the game that the Falcons turned into 29 points on the other end.

In the fourth quarter, but the Knights hung tough, but the Falcons' lead was too much to overcome.

After struggling offensively in Tuesday's home opener against Viterbo, the Knights scored at least 15 points in each quarter and made nine of 18 attempts from beyond the three point line in the loss. MLC shot 37.5 percent from the field overall, but UWRF shot 42.2 percent and was able to outscore the Knights 40-24 in the paint.

First-year point guard Ally Platzer had a career day for the Knights with 23 points on 6-12 shooting from the field (including 5-6 from beyond the three-point arc). Emily Witkowski added 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Erika Gosch scored nine points off the bench.

MLC fell to 0-4 on the season in defeat, while UWRF improved to 2-1 with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, November 19, when they host Gustavus Adolphus in a game scheduled to start at 7 p.m.