St. Ambrose had its seven-game winning streak snapped in a 65-52 loss at No. 8 Clarke Saturday afternoon.

A slow start doomed the Bees.

A 4-of-13 effort from the floor in the first quarter was followed by a 1-of-13 performance in the second. That allowed the Pride to open up leads of 26-11 after one period and 43-20 at the half.

Clarke (11-2) scored the first 12 points of the second half allowing the Pride to take their largest lead of the game.

From there, the Bees battled back. SAU outscored Clarke 32-10 over the game's final 15 minutes.

Even with the late surge, the Bees shot less than 29 percent from the floor for the game, connecting on just 15-of-52 attempts. Adding to the offensive struggles were 23 turnovers that led to 26 Pride points.

St. Ambrose limited Clarke to 33.3 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers, but turned those into just nine points.

Mel Stewart led SAU with 14 points. Jaynee Prestegaard was the only other Bee to score in double figures, netting 10.

Anna Plumer and Caroline Cool each dropped in eight points. Abby Wolter scored seven. Caitlyn Thole (3 points) and Olivia Cantu (two) accounted for the other St. Ambrose points. Cantu grabbed a team-best six rebounds in the loss. Olivia Harter was one of three Bees to pull down four boards.

St. Ambrose, now 9-5 overall, will open 2023 with a return to conference play Tuesday at home against Governors State.