Saint Xavier’s women’s basketball played three games this past week against Indiana University Northwest, Roosevelt University, and Indiana University – South Bend. The Cougars won all three encounters.
Their first game of the week saw them face off against Indiana University Northwest in non-conference play. Led by Maddie Welter, Saint Xavier won this game, 96-54. Welter led the team in scoring with 23 points and contributed six steals. She scored 14 of her 23 points in the first period alone.
The Cougars started off the game strong and scored the first eleven points of the game. At the end of the first period, they were already up by twenty points, 30-10.
The second period started similar to the first with Saint Xavier going on a 11-4 run to extend their lead to 29. With two minutes left in the period, a jumper by Emily Gorsch gave the Cougars a thirty point lead, 50-20, their largest of the half.
At half-time, Saint Xavier were up 50-24. Saint Xavier spent the second half simply extending their lead and got their largest lead of the game, 45 points, with less than forty seconds left to go. The buzzer hit and the final score was a comfortable 96-54 win.
Welter was one of two players to score 20 or more points. The other was Kara Krolicki who had 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Chanel Fanter and Sidney Lovitsch rounded up the players with double-digit points with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Brittany Collins contributed 8 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Their second game of the week was on the road against Roosevelt University. The standout player in Saint Xavier’s 97-68 victory was Chanel Fanter. Fanter had 17 points, 10 assists, and 10 blocks. The ten blocks were a single-game school record and she recorded the fourth triple-double in school history.
Kara Krolicki and Brittany Collins recorded double-doubles with Krolicki finishing the game with 27 points and 10 steals. Collins gas 16 points and 12 rebounds. Maddie Welter also had 20 points in the game, including going six out of nine from three-point range.
Roosevelt managed to stifle Saint Xavier early on in the first period. However, the Cougars’ quality was too much for Roosevelt as SXU were up by nine, 25-16, after the first period. They pulled further and further away in the second period and at one point led by 17. At the half, Saint Xavier headed into the locker room with a 16 point lead, 46-30.
Similar to their previous game, the second half served as a way for Coach Hallberg’s team to increase their lead and they did just that.
With a little under two minutes left to go in the third period, a layup by Gabby Kreykes gave her team a 37-point lead, their largest of the game.
The fourth period was just a formality and Saint Xavier went on to win with the aforementioned scored of 97-68. Once again, the Cougars finished the game with four players with double-digit scoring.
Their final game of the week was at home versus Indiana University – South Bend. In a rare occurrence, Saint Xavier found themselves trailing early.
They were only down by two less than a minute into the game and managed to tie the game quickly. After tying the game, they put some distance between themselves and their opponents. At the end of the first period, the Cougars were up 29-16.
Roosevelt tried to get back in the game in the second period but Saint Xavier managed to hold their lead steady. The home team once again pulled away late in the second and headed into halftime leading by 21 points.
With 1:146 left to go in the game, a free-throw from Gabby Kreykes gave Saint Xavier a 45 point lead as SXU went on to win the game by a score of 96-53.
Brittany Collins led the team with 22 points, 6 boards, and 6 steals. Krolicki wasn’t far behind with 21 points, 9 steals, and 6 blocks. Chanel Fanter and Maddie Welter added 14 and 12 points, respectively. It was their third straight game having four players with double-digit in points.
The win was significant for a number of reasons. Their win against Roosevelt marked Saint Xavier’s 12th consecutive win. SXU are now two wins away from a perfect CCAC season.
Saint Xavier clinched at least a share of the CCAC regular season title and qualified for the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship tournament.
In more good news, Kara Krolicki was named CCAC’s Player of the Week. It marks the fourth time Krolicki receives this award which is the same as last season. She averaged, 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, 6.5 rebounds, and 5 steals in the games against Calumet St. Joseph and Trinity International University.
Ernesto Hernandez
Sports Editor
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