Saint Xavier University’s women’s basketball team faced St. Francis in the CCAC quarterfinals on Wednesday, February 22 at the Pat Sullivan Center in Joliet, Illinois.
Despite the game being close, SXU, unfortunately, could not come out victorious to advance to the semi-finals with a final score of 68-63.
Senior forward Claire Austin ended with a team-high 16 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and one assist in 34 minutes of play.
Sophomore forward Alyssa Crenshaw recorded 14 points, four rebounds, one block, and one steal.
Sophomore guard Aaliyahna Derrell also tallied up 14 points and dished out four assists, one rebound, and a steal.
Senior guard Maia Fawcett led the team with five assists and also collected five rebounds and four points.
Freshman guard Jaidn Green provided nine points off the bench with three assists and two rebounds.
The Cougars shot a decent percentage from the floor regardless of the loss.
SXU shot a total of 62 shots and connected with 24, leaving them at 38.7 percent.
It wasn’t the best shooting night from downtown for the Cougars, though.
They only made 3 threes from 18 attempts, ending the game by shooting just 16.7 percent from behind the arc.
Both teams came out of the gate playing well and ended up trading baskets the whole game.
SXU did start the game down 7-0, but they shook it off and were back in the game.
SXU ended the first quarter with 19 points and entered the second quarter with a slight three-point lead.
The Cougars finished the 2nd quarter by scoring 18 points and went into halftime with a 37-36 lead.
In the 3rd quarter, both teams were trading leads, but St. Francis went into the fourth quarter leading the game 49-48.
With both teams in a really tight game, St. Francis just held on to their lead in the fourth and eliminated SXU from the tournament. It was a hard defeat because the Cougars had the opportunity to win it.
The season is not over yet, as we can see Saint Xavier University in action despite this elimination.
The Cougars will have to wait until the CACC finishes on Monday, Feb. 27 and see if they are part of the 64 teams that have qualified for the NAIA opening round which will take place on Thursday, March 2.
If SXU does qualify, they will play on Tuesday, March 7. The opponent, location, and time will be announced soon.