The Saint Xavier Women’s Basketball team has gotten off to a somewhat decent start this year.
Entering this week, the Cougars had a record of 2-2 and were ranked as the fourth best team in the NAIA.
The Cougars only played twice this week, both as a part of the Siena Heights University Thanksgiving Tournament in Adrian, Michigan.
SXU kicked off the tournament on November 24th against Wilberforce University. The Cougars entered the game with a 2-2 record, while Wilberforce also entered the game with a 2-2 record.
Saint Xavier got the game off to a hot start by jumping out to a 13-5 lead in the first five minutes. The Cougars continued their hot streak for the rest of the first quarter and finished the quarter with a 29-15 lead.
The second quarter was more of the same dominance from the Cougars, who went on to end the second quarter with a 41-29 lead.
The third quarter began with a small comeback attempt from Wilberforce that cut the SXU lead down from 12 to 10, but the Cougars were able to break out to a 60-45 lead before the third quarter ended.
SXU tried putting the game away for good halfway through the fourth quarter by jumping out to a 73-52 lead, but Wilberforce was able to mount a slight comeback. Wilberforce finished the game by going on a 15-4 run, but it was not enough and the Cougars won 77-67.
Saint Xavier improved to 3-2 on the year, while Wilberforce fell to 2-3 on the year.
Saint Xavier finished the Siena Heights Thanksgiving Tournament by playing the Siena Heights Saints on November 25th. Siena Heights entered the game with a 5-2 record, while the Cougars entered the game with a 3-2 record.
Siena Heights started the game by jumping out to a 12-5 lead, but the Cougars were able to trim the score to 15-10 in favor of the Saints before the first quarter came to an end.
The second quarter began with SXU jumping out to a 25-19 lead with three minutes left. In this remaining time, the Cougars were outscored 8-7, but still had a 32-27 lead going into the third quarter.
Saint Xavier held a small lead for half of the third quarter, but with five minutes left, Siena Heights claimed a 40-39 lead. Both teams traded the lead back and forth before Siena Heights ultimately ended the third quarter with a 50-48 lead.
The Cougars were able to make a comeback and jump out to a 60-54 lead with seven minutes to spare. Eventually, the Cougars were able to get a 68-65 lead with around 20 seconds left.
In the final seconds of the quarter, Siena Heights guard Peyton Banks sunk a layup and got fouled. She made the free throw and tied the game at 68, sending it to overtime.
The Cougars were able to get a three point lead in overtime, but that was their only lead of the period and the Saints were eventually able to run away with things.
The game ended with Siena Heights winning 80-75 in overtime. The Cougars fell to 3-3 on the year, while the Saints improved to 6-2 on the year.
This week was somewhat decent for the Cougars, as they one won game in convincing fashion and barely lost the other.
Next week, Saint Xavier plays Roosevelt University and Indiana University-South Bend.
Chris Leonchik
Sports Editor