WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was not the home opener the Gallaudet University women's basketball team envisioned for first-year head coach Brendan Stern as the Bison lost 55-40 to Valley Forge Christian College in the opening round of the GU Holiday Tournament on Saturday evening at the Field House.

GU will not defend its title in the Holiday Tournament after last year's thrilling 80-69 overtime win against No. 17 Lebanon Valley College. Instead the Bison (0-3) will face D'Youville College (1-4) in Sunday's consolation game at 2 p.m. Valley Forge (2-5) advances to the 6 p.m. championship game where it will face Lehman College (2-3). The Lightning defeated D'Youville, 76-61, in Saturday's other women's game.

Gallaudet did not score its first bucket until over five minutes into the first half, down 9-0, and was held under double digits until five minutes remained before halftime as the Bison trailed 25-10. The Patriots took a 27-17 lead into intermission.

Freshman Claire Tucker (Middletown, Md.) came off the bench to net eight of her team-high 13 points in the first half. Sophomore guard Britny Latham (Cleveland, Tenn.) was the other Bison in double figures with 11 as she made 1 of 8 shots from 3-point range. Fellow sophomore guard Stephanie Weiss (Wellington, Fla.) made two 3-pointers and tallied eight points and three steals in the loss.

Three different Patriots reached double digits led by Amanda Reich's 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steal performance in 34 minutes of play. Forward Amanda Compton was a force in the paint with 15 points and eight rebounds to go with three blocks. Valley Forge's other forward Kaitlyn Antolic chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The Patriots held a 40-27 rebound advantage against the Bison.

The last time Gallaudet was held under 40 points happened on Jan. 9 2010, on the road against University Mary Washington in a 45-36 loss.