Women
The women had three games going into Thanksgiving, and they continued to show utter dominance throughout.
Saturday, November 21
The Cougars started their three games against their Indiana University South Bend in South Bend, Indiana.
First Half
At the end of the first half, Saint Xavier was leading by 16 points. What made the difference here was the Cougars tough defense. They forced IUSB to cough up the ball an astonishing 13 times. In the end, SXU had nine steals and three blocks to show their dominance defense in the half.
SXU wasn’t only dominating on defense, but they were honing it in from the three point line hitting four three’s on 50% shooting. They were also shooting a clean 50% from the field on 17-34 shooting. Leading the way for the Cougars was sophomore guard Kara Krolicki who had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals. It was a monster half for her.
Leading by 16, all the Cougars needed to do was continue to play tight defense, while continuing to feed it to the open shooters for good shots.
Second Half
In the end, it was a dominant win for SXU as they won by an emphatic 32 points. SXU continued to hustle on the defensive side as they obtained 6 steals and forced IUSB to commit 12 more turnovers.
While SXU wasn’t as hot from the field as they were the first half (45.2% on 19-42 shooting), they made up for this by converting on 7 of 18 of their three point attempts which equates to 21 points off three’s for the quarter.
Sophomore guard Kara Krolicki led the Cougars with an all-around game of 13 points, six rebounds, five assist, and two steals. Simply a dominant outing from Krolicki hustling on the boards, and creating for her teammates.
Tuesday, November 24
It was the second game for the Cougars and they were up against Robert Morris University.
First Half
After one, the Cougars were up by 24 points. What’s interesting to note here was the fact that SXU committed 15 turnovers in the first half. But even though they struggled to hold onto the ball, they still were able to make up for this with some hard hitting defense.
SXU held RMU to an abysmal 20% shooting clip from the field and a woeful 15% shooting clip from three, while SXU shot 52.9% from the field and 53.3% from the three point range. The leading person for SXU was Krolicki who had 15 points, two assists, and one rebound while killing it from deep by converting on three of her seven shots from deep.
Second Half
In the end, SXU took this game by 24 points 81-57. While SXU didn’t shoot the best in this half (31% on 11-35 shooting), they were able to convert on three of their six three point attempts, and hold RMU’s field goal and three point percentage at 21.9%.
Krolicki was able to finish the game with 15 points, three rebounds, and thre assists. Creating for herself and getting her teammates involved, Krolicki was able to lead the Cougars to yet another win.
Wednesday, November 25
It was the third game for SXU and they were looking to capitalize on their momentum and obtain another Dub against Indiana University-Northwest.
First Half
It was a close one at the end of the first quarter, but SXU was leading 45-41. It was an interesting game. SXU was able to convert on a higher percentage of their field goals (47% on 19-40 shooting), but IUN was able to convert on a higher percentage of their three’s (58% on 7-12 shooting).
What did help SXU carry out this first half lead was again there strong defense which acuminated into 10 steals, and forced IUN to turn over the ball a grand total of 17 times in the first half alone. And with these turnovers, this allows numerous other scoring opportunities for SXU.
Leading the way for the Cougars was Krolicki who had 12 points, one assist, and a block. The key for SXU to leave this game with a win is to continue to play hard hitting defense, and improve their shooting from behind the three point line.
Second Half
SXU was able to get the dominant win 92-67. Looking at the stats, Not only was the team able to hold their opponents to 15% shooting from the field and 17% shooting from the tree point line, but they were also able a high 62% from three hitting 3 out of their 8 three’s.
Rebounding wise, IUN should’ve won this game, but their inability to hold the ball, and move the ball around while taking smart shots cost them in the end. Krolicki had a hot night as she had 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
With this win, the women’s basketball team is sitting at a 9-0 record. Move out of the way Golden State Warriors, the SXU women’s basketball team is the hottest undefeated team this year.
Men
The men were back in action and looking for a win against Trinity International after a rocky start to the season.
Wednesday, November 18
First Half
At the end of the first half, SXU was sitting at a comfortable ten point lead 42-32. What gave SXU the edge in the first half was Trinity’s shooting percentage. Trinity shot 35% from the field, and only converted on two of their 12 point field goal attempts. SXU was able to shoot a higher percentage from both the field goal and three point line.
The leading man for the Cougars at the end of this half was guard Dominique Jeter who had 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists. The key to victory for the Cougars would be continuing to look for the open man and taking smart shots, while also pressuring Trinity’s ball handlers so they can force turnovers and bad shots.
Second Half
It was a narrow win for SXU at the end of this one as they won 92-90. What led to victory for the Cougars was their shooting from downtown as they hit six of their 11 three point shots, while also holding their opponents to 40% shooting from the field.
Guard Kyle Huppe led the way for the cougars as he had 18 points, two assists, and a steal.
Tuesday, November 24
It was the second game for the men and they looked to get the win versus Robert Morris University
First Half
At the end of one, RMU was leading SXU by nine, 51-42. Looking at the stats, while SXU out rebounded and shot a higher overall percentage form the field than RMU, RMU still had the lead as they took advantage of SXU’s 12 first half turnovers.
What does SXU need to do to win the game? Simple. Hold on to the ball and continue to take smart shots and rebound, and they should take the game.
Second Half
In the end, RMU beat SXU 97-86. RMU obtained the victory by shooting a higher percentage from the field in the second half while also causing SXU to shoot a lower percentage from the field. The leading man for SXU was sophomore guard Larry Motusis. Motuzis had 18 points, eight rebounds, and an assist to lead the Cougars.
Let’s continue to show both our men’s and women’s basketball team support and keep it locked here at The Xavierite for more sports updates.
Kenneth Washington
Deputy Sports Editor