Senior guard Sydni Bickford hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 15 points on Monday night as the Pfeiffer University women’s basketball team dropped a 77-64 decision to visiting Virginia-Lynchburg.

Bickford, from Concord, started hot by hitting three 3-pointers, as the Falcons bolted to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter.

The Falcons pushed their lead to 18-8 following a pair of Brina Bentley free throws with 4:19 to play in the first. The Dragons then put together a 11-6 run to close the quarter, with Pfeiffer holding the 24-19 lead.

The second quarter saw Pfeiffer push the lead back to 28-21 after a Bentley basket at the 8:32 mark. VUL then chipped away at the Falcons lead, tying the game at 32 after a Tia Richardson free throw. The Dragons grabbed their second lead of the game on another free throw with 4:37 left before halftime.

Virginia-Lynchburg would go up 39-35 with 23 seconds before halftime, but Kiara Anderson sank two free throws to provide the 39-37 score at the break.

The visitors’ lead would swell to as many as nine by the end of the third and VUL then pushed its cushion to as many as 20 (74-54) in the fourth, taking the eventual 13-point win.

Bickford had the game-high for Pfeiffer with 15. Teammates A’Mya McClain and Bentley each had 14 as the Falcons dropped to 9-13 on the season.

Pfeiffer will close out the 2019 season against Brevard on Wednesday night in Merner Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.