The SXU women’s basketball team has been on an absolute roll throughout the past month. They have turned their season around and have made sure they solidified their spot in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC).
Back on December 16 the women were defeated by the University of St Francis, 74-68, in a game that turned their whole season around. The Cougars had a lead in the first half, but it was turnovers that led to their demise in the second half. They ended up losing by six points and it was a crucial turning point in the season as it was also their third CCAC loss of the season.
The next team that was on tap for the Saint Xavier Cougars was Morningside University. The Cougars traveled to Florida on December 17, where they were set to take on the No. 3 team in the nation, Morningside.
The game seemed to be in the Cougars favor throughout the entire contest. At one point the Cougars were up by 16 points. Suzie Broski had a big game for Saint Xavier as she scored 16 points and brought down 13 rebounds. Another Cougar who had a nice game was Morgan Stuut, who had 24 points and eight rebounds. Saint Xavier went on to win by 11 points, 76-65.
This would be the start of an impressive run by the Saint Xavier women’s basketball team. The girls went on to win the Cruzin classic tournament in Florida; and then went home to host their Holiday Tournament at the Shannon Center.
The first team the Cougars played in the Holiday Tournament was Ashford University and the Cougars easily took care of business against them winning, 82-49. The next day the Cougars had to go up against the No. 23 ranked team, Huntington University.
Saint Xavier yet again put in a great effort and they defeated Huntington, 77-61. The championship game of the tournament came next for the Cougars and they had to go up against the No. 7 team in the nation, the University of Saint Francis (Ind.). This team was not only ranked No. 7, but they were also undefeated on the season.
Saint Xavier had a great effort and turned in a lot of good performances from players such as Stuut and Broski, but also Chrissy Heine and Romisha Taylor. All four of these players scored in double digits and they were the reason that Saint Xavier won the game, 78-61 and won the tournament.
The Saint Xavier Cougars continued their winning ways and moved on to play Olivet Nazarene University in their next big game.
The Cougars dominated against Olivet and had some girls step up in a big way. Margaret Wildner had a great game as she scored 11 points, collected six rebounds, and racked up three steals.
The Cougars ended up winning the game, 86-69. Saint Xavier held Olivet to only 69 points, which is 35 points below their average point total. That was something to be very impressed with and that was something that helped to continue to fuel the Saint Xavier winning streak.
The Cougars moved on to Roosevelt University who they knocked off with a score of, 81-61. However, they did have some trouble in that game as they were down at halftime 36-31. They roared back in the second half and dominated the rest of the game.
Against Trinity Christian, Saint Xavier got off to another slow start, but it was the hot hand of Maureen Riley that they used to lift them over the Trolls. At halftime she was 5-5 from beyond the arc. That was the first time that happened since Angie Brown back in 2006. Riley ended with 24 points on the night and eight three point makes.
The latest game the Cougars played was this past Saturday when they traveled up to Wisconsin to take on the Cardinal Stritch Wolves. The first half was a good defensive battle that when back and forth for most of the time, but the Cougars did break away and led by four at the half.
In the second half, the Cougars came to play and led by as much as 16 points. They ended up putting the game on ice with some late free throws by Stuut and got the victory 67-60.
The Cougars have now won 11 games in a row. The next game for Saint Xavier is this Wednesday against Robert Morris University. It will be the first time the two teams will meet this season.