A slow start hurt Women's Lacrosse in a home loss Tuesday night.

The (3) Ravens lost 16-9 to NCAA Division II Rockhurst University Hawks.

Down 9-3 heading into the second half, the Ravens hung right with the Hawks in the final 30 minutes. Rockhurst had just one more goal than the Ravens in the second half. The Ravens got second-half goals from Natalie Wechter, who finished with 3 total goals to lead the team, Molly Muehleback, two from Aidan McEnerney and one from Clare Ryan.

The big damage came in the first half as the Hawks got off to a fast start, scoring the game's first 6 goals. Wechter got the Ravens on the board 19 minutes into the contest, then Muehlebach scored to cut the Rockhurst lead to 6-2.

After another Hawks goal, Anne Marie Mannella scored the Ravens third goal of the first half. The Hawks maintained control, though, scoring the final two goals of the first half to take a 9-3 lead into the break. Those six goals to start the game turned out to be too much for the Ravens to overcome.

Rebecca Wichman had four saves in the first half for the Ravens, while Rockhurst's Sydney Shindler made nine saves. Marianna Anderson led the Hawks offense in the first half with 5 goals.

Wichman finished the game with six saves and Shindler finished with 12 for the Hawks.

The Ravens (0-1) will move into conference play when they take on Missouri Valley College at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2 at home again on Legacy Field.