Aaliyahna Derrell dribbles the ball upcourt SXU Athletics
The Saint Xavier University women’s basketball team collected their second win of the season (83-82) on Tuesday, Nov. 21 against Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL.
Following the first CCAC matchup of the season, SXU’s record currently stands at 2-4 with a 1-0 record in conference.
In addition to the big win, Junior guard Aaliyahna Derrell tied a single-game program record with 13 assists. Derrell also collected 12 rebounds to record a double-double.
Four SXU players recorded 10 or more points in the win, senior guard Bethany Baldwin leading the way with 20 points off the bench. In her 26 minutes of play, Baldwin also recorded seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
Coming off three straight losses the Cougars needed to start getting more good looks on their shots and clean up their overall play to get back on track.
Despite looking better against the Tigers, the Cougars still struggled mightily on three-point shooting, going just 1-12 from three-point range.
It was SXU’s game through three quarters, but it became a nail-biter in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter saw a lot of points go up on the scoreboard, both teams finishing with 28. It was the most points Saint Xavier scored in the first quarter so far this year, changing the pace from their other games.
SXU was much more efficient on shooting in the first than Olivet Nazarene was, making 13 of 15 shots (86.7%) to ONU’s 10-19 (52.6%).
Baldwin led the Cougars in the first half with eight points, followed by sophomore guard Jaidn Green who had six.
Green ended the game with 15 points on 5-8 shooting.
The Cougars picked up their pace in the second, outscoring ONU 22-14, providing themselves with a 50-42 lead going into the half.
It was good to see Saint Xavier keep their momentum and get on top going into the third quarter.
Junior forward Alyssa Crenshaw had an explosive second quarter performance on offense, leading scoring with 10 points. Crenshaw finished the game with 19 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Saint Xavier attempted two more three-point shots, making neither. At the end of the first half, SXU was 0-3 on three-point attempts and ONU was 5-23.
With an eight-point lead heading into the second half of the game, the Cougars had to keep the pressure on Olivet Nazarene to keep them at bay.
Saint Xavier won the quarter again, outscoring ONU 26-22. Although they only scored four more points than the Tigers in the third, SXU built on their second quarter lead enough to enter the fourth up 76-64.
Junior guard Hayley Macdonald added six points and an assist to her statline in the third quarter. Macdonald finished the game with 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
It was not until the third quarter when Saint Xavier finally managed to get a three-point shot to drop. Junior guard Jenna Hernandez made the Cougars’ lone three with 4:04 left in the quarter, which gave them a 66-58 lead.
The fourth quarter seemed to be going the same way as the past two quarters had gone, SXU eventually building up to a nine point, 81-72 lead with just under four and a half minutes to go.
Following two made ONU free throws, the Tigers began to rally with less than four minutes left to try to upset the Cougars.
With 31 seconds left in the game, the Tigers hit a three-pointer to go up 82-81, their first lead since the first quarter. It was at this point that things looked bleak for the Cougars.
With the clock winding down, Baldwin made a pass to Macdonald as she cut towards the basket for a layup attempt that fell in, giving Saint Xavier an 83-82 lead with three seconds remaining.
This game turned out to be a real test for the Cougars and it was great to see them hold it together and find a way to win at the end.
But despite picking up the win, the Cougars three-point shooting is still struggling.
Three-point attempts had a huge impact on the game; ONU attempted 46 shots, making 13 of them. In hindsight, if the Tigers elected to take less three-pointers and instead settled for more mid-range shots or drives to the basket, they may have walked away with a victory.
Six games into the season, Saint Xavier has attempted 121 shots from beyond the arc, making just 30 of them. Their 24.8 percentage from three-point range is ninth worst in the CCAC.
Although they aren’t the worst, out of the seven teams with 100+ 3PT attempts, SXU is second worst with Judson University trailing them by just three tenths of a point (24.5%).
SXU is not a three-point shooting team– and that is perfectly fine– but if they are going to keep taking these shots it has to get more consistent or they need to be far more strategic with their shot attempts.
I completely believe the Cougars can be a good team without being a threat from three-point range, but the game plan may need to change.
The Cougars next game is tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 5 p.m. in the Shannon Center.
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