After staying with No. 23 Briar Cliff for most of the first half, St. Ambrose ran out of gas as the Bees fell 93-66 Saturday afternoon in Lee Lohman Arena.

The nationally-ranked Chargers (3-0) shot better than 53 percent from the floor, including a nearly 48-percent mark from beyond the arc, in dropping the Bees to 1-3 on the year.

But SAU kept pace early. Behind six points apiece from Abby Wolter and Caitlyn Thole, St. Ambrose grabbed a fast 14-8 lead midway through the opening quarter. And when Thole knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:47 left in the frame, the Bees trailed just 20-18.

Briar Cliff closed the quarter with eight straight points and started the second with four more to build a 32-18 advantage. Two Caroline Cool free throws stopped the 12-0 run and the Bees matched the Chargers the rest of the half, going into the locker room down 44-34.

Wolter, Thole and Payton Calouette combined for all 18 SAU points in the first quarter and accounted for 30 of the team's 34 in the first half. Olivia Harter hit two free throws in the final minute of the second quarter to match Cool with two first-half points.

Thole started the third quarter with a three-point play to trim the deficit to 44-37 just a minute in. But from there, Briar Cliff began to pull away. The Chargers went on a 19-2 run, with the lone Bee points coming on a Wolter layup, to push the margin to 63-39. SAU never threatened from there.

Thole led St. Ambrose with 25 points and five assists. Wolter finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. 

Harter hit 2-of-3 from 3-point range in scoring eight points. Calouette scored seven, Cool netted five and Mary Gruber added three.

The Bees will take a bit of a break before opening CCAC play at St. Francis on Nov. 20.