Eleanor Harris takes a free throw SXU Athletics
The women’s basketball team opened the season Friday, Oct. 27 with a loss against Bethany College at the Shannon Center. Saint Xavier’s record stands at 1-3 after four games.
SXU vs. Bethany College: 58-61 (L)
Despite the loss on opening night, the Cougars played a well-rounded game versus the Swedes, losing by just one possession.
In her first career start, sophomore center Eleanor Harris led the Cougars on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Harris had game-highs in four different categories across the board which included 14 points, nine rebounds, five steals, and two blocks.
Junior forward Alyssa Crenshaw also had a strong performance in the opener, recording 13 points, a game-high tying nine rebounds, and three steals.
The first quarter was closely contested, SXU closing out with a 17-16 lead. Saint Xavier made just one three-pointer on three attempts to BC’s three made on seven attempts.
SXU won the second quarter as well, scoring 22 points to the Swedes’ 19, extending their lead to 39-35.
However, Bethel bounced back after halftime, holding the Cougars’ offense to just eight points. The third quarter ended and the game was knotted up at 47 points each.
In the end, the Swedes were able to outlast Saint Xavier, outscoring SXU 11-14 in the fourth quarter to give them just enough room to escape Shannon Center with a win.
Bethany scored thirty of their 61 points off of three-pointers, SXU netting just three from beyond the arc across four quarters. The Cougars will have to drastically improve their three-point shooting if they want to win more of these close games.
SXU vs. Lawrence Technological University: 70-56 (W)
The Cougars got their first win of the season against Lawrence Tech on Nov. 4. For the second game in a row, four players finished the game with 10 or more points.
Crenshaw led the way with 16, Harris finished with 14 again, and junior guards Hayley Macdonald and Bethany Baldwin each had 10.
The conclusion of the first half saw Saint Xavier with a 34-27 lead. Both teams struggled from three point range, going for a combined 2-14. Neither team’s three-point scoring improved in the second half.
Lawrence Tech closed the gap in the third quarter. They outscored Saint Xavier 14-18, closing in and making the score 48-45 with just one quarter to go.
However, the Cougars did not allow LTU to gain anymore momentum in the fourth quarter, scoring 22 points and holding the Blue Devils to just 11.
This was a great bounce-back game for the Cougars, their three point shooting still struggled but they found other ways to put the ball in the net proving their ability to be good playmakers.
SXU vs. (No. 6) Marian University: 43-82 (L)
The tides changed in the third game when Saint Xavier faced off against nationally ranked Marian University in the Catholic Classic at University of St. Francis (IL) on Friday, Nov. 10.
Crenshaw was the only Cougar to score more than 10 points (11) in the game. Crenshaw also recorded four rebounds and was 7-7 from the free throw line.
Saint Xavier knew they would be in for a tough one against Marian, but even knowing that they could not stop the Knights’ offense.
Though the offense struggled all around, the three-point shooting was still a part of the game SXU grappled with. They finished the game just 3-20 from beyond the arc, compared to MU’s much more efficient 7-15.
SXU vs. University of Saint Francis (IN): 72-91 (L)
In their final game of the Catholic Classic, SXU faced off against Saint Francis (IN), taking a tough loss which moved their record to 1-3 on the season.
Sophomore guard Jaidn Green was a highlight for SXU, finishing with a career-high 26 points on 10-14 shooting. Green’s three-point shot was just also efficient, making six on 10 attempts.
Junior guard Jenna Hernandez also delivered a career-high in points with 16, 12 of them coming off of three-pointers.
The Saint Xavier Cougars started the game off strong, at one point holding a 15-12 lead, but everything unraveled after that.
USF completely shutdown the Saint Xavier offense, going on a 0-12 run for the remainder of the first quarter.
For a good portion of the second quarter SXU was fighting a 10-point shortfall, until the USF Cougars had an offensive explosion.
Saint Xavier also battled foul trouble in the second quarter, including a technical on the SXU bench that resulted in a four-point possession for Saint Francis.
At the end of the first half, Saint Xavier was down 23 points, getting outscored 11-35 after their 15-12 lead.
For the most part, SXU was on-par with Saint Francis’ scoring in the third, but the hole they were in was far too deep to dig out of. Saint Xavier scored 15 to Saint Franics’ 19, but were down 27 going into the fourth quarter.
Saint Xavier’s offense had their own explosion in the final quarter, scoring 31 points. A good sign despite the blowout loss.
It was not an all-around terrible offensive performance for Saint Xavier, scoring 71, but they looked sloppy at points especially with shot selections, specifically from three-point range.
Starting the season 1-3 is no reason to sound any alarms, but the Cougars are going to have to improve quickly across the board before CCAC play begins.
Their next game is Nov. 21 at Olivet Nazarene University, tip-off scheduled for 5:30 pm.