St. Ambrose was outscored 36-21 in the second half in falling to Indiana Kokomo 56-53 Wednesday in the second day of the Taylor Trojan Classic in Upland, Ind.

Two Payton Calouette free throws gave the Bees their largest lead at 31-16 with 1:48 remaining in the first half. The advantage was 32-20 at the half.

St. Ambrose (2-8) hit 6-of-9 shots in the second quarter, but the shots didn't continue to fall in the second half.

SAU made just 2-of-14 attempts in the third quarter. That included a 1-of-9 mark from beyond the arc. Indiana Kokomo (5-7) took advantage, outscoring St. Ambrose 19-9 to pull to within 41-39 entering the final frame.

Three-pointers from Olivia Harter and Calouette helped the Bees rebuild a 49-44 lead with less than seven minutes to play. Calouette later knocked down another three that had the lead at 52-48 with under three minutes left.

The Cougars scored the next four points to knot the score at 52-52. An Abby Wolter free throw put the Bees back in front with 1:14 remaining.

IU Kokomo converted two free throws to take a 54-53 lead inside the final minute. On SAU's next possession, Wolter was whistled for an offensive foul, which ultimately led to another Cougar free throw.

Erica Bostwick and Caitlyn Thole each had a shot to tie but came up empty. IU Kokomo added another free throw with nine seconds on the clock. Harter missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.

The second-half struggles dropped St. Ambrose to a 30.9 percent effort from the floor for the game. The Bee defense allowed them to stay close, as the Cougars shot just 37 percent overall and 11.1 percent from 3-point range. SAU was also hurt by hitting just 11-of-19 from the line.

Thole led the Bees with 13 points and nine rebounds. Calouette scored 12 and Wolter finished with 10 points and nine boards.

Harter scored eight points. Bostwick (four) and Elly Doe (three) combined for seven points off the bench. Mary Gruber netted three points.

St. Ambrose will return to CCAC play Saturday with a game at Judson.