The final score from senior night against the Saint Francis Fighting Saints. Saint Xavier University Athletics
The Saint Xavier women’s basketball team finished their regular season this last week going 1-1, against two conference teams. They defeated the Saint Ambrose Bees on Wednesday Feb. 19, by a total of 34 points, winning 86-52. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they fell short on senior night to the Saint Francis Fighting Saints losing 63-66.
With their regular season over, the Cougars have finished 5th in their conference and are looking to make a splash in the CCAC tournament and keep their national championship dreams alive.
The Cougars came into their Wednesday night game against the Saint Ambrose Fighting Bees extremely confident. The Cougars have an overall record of 21-2 against the Fighting Bees and have not lost to them since 2010.
The Fighting Bees sit towards the bottom of the CCAC rankings in 9th place and have not won a game since Feb. 1.
It was extremely evident that this game was going to be a blowout right from the start. In the first five minutes of the first quarter, the Cougars managed to score a quick 12 points compared to the Fighting Bees 2. The Fighting Bees weren’t able to get anything going. They scored only six points in the first, shooting at a pitiful 15.38%.
Despite going 1-8 from the three point line the Cougars still managed to score 22 points in the first quarter shooting at 45.45% from the field.
The Cougars would go on to ride this momentum into the second quarter scoring exactly 22 points again and went into halftime with a 44-19 lead. The Fighting Bees were able to play a little better this quarter, almost doubling the amount of points they scored in the first. Unfortunately for them, the lead was starting to get out of hand.
This deficit on the scoreboard would spark some energy within the Fighting Bees as they came out on fire in the third quarter. The Fighting Bees would manage to score 20 total points, which is more than they scored in the first half. They were also able to shoot at a match high 69.23% from the field during this quarter.
Despite the efforts on offense, the Fighting Bees were not able to contain the Cougars on the defensive side of the ball. The Cougars managed to score 21 points shooting at 47.06% from the field. The Cougars would go into the fourth quarter with a 65-39 point lead.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around this game was already over. The Cougars managed to add 21 more points and the game finished with a final score of 86-52.
The senior night game on Saturday kicked off with recognizing the eight graduating seniors: Ryann Ogarek, Naya Haymon, Sofie Carr, Alyssa Crenshaw, Jenna Hernandez, Hayley Macdonald, and Eleanor Harris.
This game was an extremely important one for the Cougars as the Saint Francis Fighting Saints sat one spot ahead of them in the CCAC standings. The Cougars understood the pressure they were under and came out firing in the first quarter, outscoring the Fighting Saints 23-14.
The Fighting Saints were able to make some defensive changes going into the second quarter and were able to hold the Cougars to only nine points while scoring 22 themselves. The final score of the first half was 36-32 and the Fighting Saints had all the momentum.
The third quarter was extremely competitive with both teams giving it their all. The lead shifted four times throughout the third quarter, but the Fighting Saints ultimately gained the upper hand, closing the period with a 54-47 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Cougars were never able to take the lead back in the fourth quarter and would end up falling to the Fighting Saints in a nailbiter 66-63. The Cougars have finished their regular season with an overall record of 18-10 and now have to shift their focus to the CCAC tournament.