KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A promising end to the third quarter put the Truman State Bulldogs in position to make a run at the Rockhurst Hawks but the home team scored the first 16 points of the final quarter to squash a comeback attempt in an 88-67 loss on Thursday night.

Truman State's only lead came at 8-7 in the first quarter and Rockhurst was able to build a 24-point lead with 3:10 to go in the third quarter at 59-35.

The Bulldogs scored the next 12 points to finish the quarter and had the first possession of the fourth in a chance to cut it to single digits. Unfortunately, a travel violation was whistled against the Bulldogs and the Hawks took flight with 16 straight points to put the game out of reach.

The Hawks knocked down 13 three-pointers to the Bulldogs five on the night.

Molly Joyce continued her strong play by leading Truman State with 19 points and was a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw stripe. She has been in double-figure scoring in five of the last seven games.

Keegan Sullivan led three Rockhurst players in scoring with 17.

Truman will head north a few miles to face William Jewell on Saturday afternoon in Liberty, Missouri. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.