“New year, same me” for Saint Xavier’s women’s basketball team. The start of a new year has people coming up with resolutions vowing to be better. For the Cougars, it’s quite the opposite.
They started the season well and continue to be one of the best teams in the conference. However, their dominant start seems to have papered over some cracks that give cause for concern.
Coach Hallberg’s team find themselves with an overall record of 16-2 and are ranked fourth in the country. They won their last game defeating (18) University of Saint Francis (Ill.) by a score of 62-51.
The team is undefeated on the road and lost only one game at home. But it was that one loss that brought up some red flags.
The one loss at home was against, at the time, the No. 2 ranked team, Concordia University, in the SXU Classic.
Coming into the game, Saint Xavier were the only team ranked above them. Many saw it as a preview of a potential championship game. Saint Xavier pulled ahead in the first quarter finishing with a 17-9 lead. The second quarter is where things fell apart for the Cougars.
Concordia came out intent on pressing Saint Xavier as soon as they inbounded the ball. That game plan worked because when the Cougars found themselves under pressure, it resulted in sloppy passes and eventually turning the ball over.
Saint Xavier turned the ball over twelve times in the second quarter and ended the game committing a season-high 28 turnovers.
Concordia capitalized on those turnovers turning the game around and took the lead in the second quarter. They never gave the lead back and won 81-60.
One of the question marks heading into the season was going to be how well the team was going to handle the loss of Mikayla Leyden. Her absence, while not noticeable early on, was all but apparent in the loss against Concordia.
Those little moments of pause and creativity were missing in that game. Once Saint Xavier was down, they tried to up the tempo but it only led to more turnovers which resulted in desperate shots in order to try to get back into the game.
Sean Anderson, broadcaster for the Cougars basketball team on WXAV 88.3 FM, provided us some insight in how the team has been able to handle the loss of Leyden and which players have stepped up this season.
On Leyden, “They haven’t been able to necessarily fill the hole that she has left. Coach Hallberg said near the end of last season that they wouldn’t be able to fill that hole, but that he was confident that players could step up.”
Which players he’s been impressed by: “So far Chanel Fanter has shown great strides offensively and defensively. Meg Knutson has been looking more confident and comfortable as the fifth starter. She has the ability to lead the offense, but she’s also shown her ability to be a spot-up shooter from the outside.”
So it’s not all doom and gloom. It was only one game and hopefully somewhat of a wake-up call in where the team needs to improve.
Over the holiday season, Kara Krolicki became SXU’s all-time leading scorer in their victory over Goshen College. Krolicki has become a leader on the team which goes beyond simply being the team, and university’s top scorer.
Sean said, “ In the game against Cardinal Stritch (88-59 win) Kara Krolicki brought the ball up and led the offense, and it had the best flow of the year with her at point. It opened up Chanel, Maddie, Meg on the outside, and Brittney had more room to do her work on the lane. Once the defense drew in on Brit, she was able to kick out to the shooters.”
Krolicki makes those around her better as well. It stops teams from solely focusing on her and being the only player the opposition has to worry about.
Because her teammates are good at what they do, Saint Xavier isn’t only a one-player team.
It would be remiss to not mention that since losing to Concordia, the Cougars have gone on to win their next four in a row with a an average margin of victory of 25 points.
As Sean noted, if the team is finding their groove now, and they were playing well already, this team is primed to make a run in the playoffs and be one of the favorites to win it all.
Upcoming Schedule
1/24 Saint Ambrose University at 5:00pm
1/27 @ Holy Cross College at 12:00pm
1/31 @ Calumet College of St. Joseph at 5:00pm
2/3 Trinity International University at 1:00pm
2/5 Indiana University Northwest at 5:00pm
Ernesto Hernandez
Sports Editor
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