MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College women's basketball team had already secured one of the biggest year-to-year improvements in school history and were looking to add another against Benedictine. Despite 20 points from Abby Shane, Edgewood College couldn't overcome 19 turnovers and Benedictine's 50 percent second-half shooting in a 70-54 defeat in their season finale on Saturday afternoon.

Shane, who will finish the season as the Eagles top scorer (10.6 ppg), scored 20 or more points for the second straight game and posted 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting in the first half. Diamond Pikulyk was nearly flawless in a 16-point performance after going 8-for-9 from the field and Delaney Wilhelm added eight points and a career-high 15 boards.

The freshmen trio and their teammates helped lead the Eagles, unofficially the nation's youngest team, to an 11-game turnaround from a winless campaign last year. The much-improved crew battled to the end against a Benedictine team that had beaten them by over 30 points earlier this year.

Thanks to Shane, Edgewood College (11-14, 9-11 NACC) kept pace with Benedictine (17-8, 14-6 NACC) in the first half and only trailed 35-28 at the break. A quick 3-point run by Kelly Carpenter pulled Edgewood College to a 44-35 deficit midway through the third quarter. It would be the final time the Eagles were within single digits of Benedictine as the visitors countered with a 10-1 run to open up a 54-36 advantage.

Edgewood College trailed by as many as 22 points in the fourth, but finished the game on a 14-8 run to reach the final margin.

Benedictine did most of their damage down low with a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint and outdid Edgewood College in second chance points, 15-2. Both teams finished a combined 4-for-23 (17.3 percent) from behind the arc and knocked down just 16 of 29 free throws (55.2 percent).

Allison Michalski posted a team-high 19 points in 16 minutes for a No. 3 seeded Benedictine team that will host No. 6 seed Aurora in the first round of the NACC tournament next Wednesday. 

Edgewood College will finish their season in eighth-place in the conference standings after being picked last (12th) in the preseason poll. The rising Eagles have all 12 players returning, including 10 freshmen, as they gear up for their first NACC tournament appearance since the 2014-15 season.