A second-half rally came up a little short as St. Ambrose closed 2019 with a 65-60 home loss to Clarke Monday night.

The Bees, who trailed 42-22 at the half, got as close as four points in the fourth quarter, the last time at 64-60 after Madi Epperson knocked down a jumper after a steal with 34 seconds left.

SAU (6-9) had a chance to get even closer after Clarke missed a pair of free throws but Epperson's 3-pointer rattled out. The Bees got the ball back but committed a turnover on the inbounds leading to a Pride free throw for a five-point lead with 16 seconds remaining. Epperson misfired on a final 3-point attempt in the closing 10 seconds to end any comeback hopes.

The game was a reversal of sorts from the teams' previous meeting, an 81-58 Clarke win in Dubuque on Nov. 13. In that game, the Pride led just 37-36 at the half before breaking things open by outscoring the Bees 30-13 in the third quarter.

Monday night, St. Ambrose trailed by 20 points at the half but were able to claw back into the game thanks to a great third quarter.

Jamie Martens scored the first four points of the frame. Anna Plumer, who provided some energy late in the first half, scored inside and Kylie Wroblewski drilled a 3-pointer. Charlotte Flynn came up with a steal and a layup to cap an 11-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 42-33.

Wroblewski and Flynn each scored seven points to help St. Ambrose outscored Clarke 22-9 in the third quarter to get within 51-44. SAU shot 9-of-14 from the field in the period while holding the Pride to 3-of-14 shooting.

Epperson opened the fourth quarter by hitting a three to close the gap to 51-47. Clarke (11-3) would rebuild an 11-point lead before the Bees made their final charge to get within four in the final minute.

Wroblewski finished with a team-best 14 points, 11 of those coming in the second half. She also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds.

Flynn also hit double figures, scoring 13 points, to go along with six boards. Colleen Grady added eight points and Plumer scored seven.

The Bees will return to CCAC play Saturday against Judson.