Marquette women’s lacrosse’s season came to an abrupt end Thursday with a 19-8 road loss to No. 6 Florida in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals. The Gators (15-3, 10-0 BIG EAST) will either play Denver or Georgetown in the BIG EAST Championship on Saturday.

Sophmore goalie Julianna Horning made 17 saves in 60 minutes off 36 Florida shots on goal, but not much else went right for the Golden Eagles. The Gators quickly got on the board with an unassisted goal from Lindsey Ronbeck.

Marquette junior midfielder Grace Gabriel answered two minutes later on a feed from Allison Lane, but Marquette could not generate any momentum. Florida stretched its lead to 6-2. Sophomore attack Megan Menzuber ended the run with a feed from senior Riley Hill.

Ronbeck dominated the rest of the half, scoring her fifth goal of the game with four seconds left in the half to give the Gators a 10-4 halftime lead.

Florida opened the second half with three goals in the first three minutes. Hill snapped the run with a feed from junior Cate Soccodato, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Gators’ electric offense.

A 45-16 shot advantage helped the Gators secure the 19-8 win despite late Marquette goals from freshman Caroline Peterson, Hill and Gabriel.

The loss was Marquette’s first BIG EAST Tournament game in program history. Key losses for next year include Hill, midfielder Allison Lane and defender Alex Gambacorta. Two of Marquette’s top three point-scorers are expected to return for the 2019 season.