Saint Xavier’s women’s basketball team crossed off one of their goals of the season as they beat Olivet Nazarene University 112-64 and were crowned CCAC champions for a second consecutive year.
The game started off quick as Olivet Nazarene sunk a three in the opening seconds. It would turn out to be the only lead Olivet would hold all game as Chanel Fanter responded immediately with a three of her own to bring Saint Xavier level. Fanter scored the team’s first seven points and were up by four early on.
Saint Xavier were up 16-4 halfway through the first period as Maddie Welter, Fanter, and Kara Krolicki went back-to-back-to-back from three-point land. As the buzzer rang for the end of the first period, the Cougars held a commanding 34-18 lead. A big portion of that lead had to do with the team going 7-for-8 from behind the arc.
Olivet Nazarene tried to stage a comeback in the second period. They were able to cut the lead down to thirteen with eight minutes to go. That was as close as Olivet came to making a game of it as Saint Xavier went on a 23-3 run and extended their lead to thirty-five points, their biggest of the half, with three minutes to go at the half. The two teams went into halftime with Saint Xavier holding a commanding 63-32 lead.
Not content with a thirty-one point lead, coach Hallberg’s team came out in the second-half with the goal of not giving Olivet any sense of hope that they could get back in the game. Saint Xavier continued to add on to their lead as almost every shot they took seemed to go in. It was the complete opposite for Olivet Nazarene.
For the visitors, it seemed that almost any shot they took would not go in. Even when they had good looks, their shots would go in-and-out. Psychologically, it must have been a blow because there was not much else they could do. They were finding space and taking decent shots, but they just weren’t going in. Saint Xavier used this to their advantage and at the end of the third period were up 96-53, a forty-three-point lead.
The fourth period was no different as for those supporting the home side, the only question now was whether they’d be able to hit the century mark. However, the Cougars kept up the same intensity as they started the game with. They were not taking this game for granted.
A lay-up by Fanter midway through the fourth finally got the Cougars to the century mark. The team’s lead never fell below forty points throughout the period. A jumper by Janie McCloughan with less than a minute to go took the score to 112-64 in favor of Saint Xavier.
After a turnover by Olivet Nazarene, all the Cougars needed to do was run down the clock and they did just that. The final buzzer echoed inside Bob Hallberg Court as Saint Xavier won the game and the CCAC title.
For SXU, it’s difficult to pick one player as the star of the game as almost everyone from the starting line-up had big contributions all game. For Coach Hallberg, he has to be encouraged that the contributions came from various players at different parts of the game.
Saint Xavier responded immediately after an Olivet score which let any of the air out of their sails and it was apparent to anyone watching. It led to the visitors having to take desperate three point shots as well as collapses in defense. There were a handful of times when Brittany Collins found herself all alone on a fast break which led to easy layups for the senior forward. There was even an instance where Welter shot a three in front of an Olivet defender who did little to defend her shot.
This was perhaps Saint Xavier’s best performance of the season and it was definitely one of the more lopsided victories in a CCAC championship game.
Chanel Fanter finished the game just short of a triple-double with twenty-six points, ten assists, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Brittany Collins led the Cougars in scoring with twenty-nine points to go along with two assists, six blocks, and a steal. Collins also had twelve rebounds resulting in her fifteenth double-double of the season.
Kara Krolicki, last week’s CCAC’s player of the week, contributed eighteen points, eight assists, and three steals. Maddie Welter had fifteen points as well as five assists, two steals, and a block.
By winning the CCAC championship game, the Cougars also finished the season with a perfect 12-0 record in conference play. They are the first team to accomplish this distinction since 2010. This marks the tenth time that Saint Xavier win the CCAC Tournament title.
It’s even more impressive considering the program has only been around for eighteen years.
Both Saint Xavier and Olivet Nazarene are headed to Sioux Falls, Iowa to participate in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship tournament.
The Cougars are no strangers to this tournament as they reached the finals last season but came runner-up. They will undoubtedly use it as extra motivation to try to win it all this year.
Ernesto Hernandez
Sports Editor