The Saint Xavier University women’s basketball team finished up their season with a 25-7 record and a 17-5 mark in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). SXU advanced to the second round of the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championships in Sioux City, Iowa, following their great season and receiving an at large bid to the 32-team tournament.
The Cougars found that their opponent would be Saint Thomas University (Fla.) at a live selection show held on Wednesday, February 27. Saint Xavier kicked off the tournament as well in the 8:30 a.m., game on Wednesday, March 6.
The 32-team tournament was broken down into four quadrants with eight teams in each bracket which were seeded one through eight in each bracket. The Bobcats were seeded No. 4 and the Cougars were seeded No. 5 in this game.
SXU came out red hot in the game and went on to a big victory over the Bobcats of St. Thomas, 70-49. The Cougars were led by sophomore guard Suzie Broski who scored a game-high 24 points (12-of-20 shooting).
Saint Xavier also got a great game out of freshman forward Caitlin McMahon who recorded a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in her first appearance in the National Championship Tournament. Sophomore guard/forward Morgan Stuut had a nice outing with 13 rebounds while adding six points of her own.
Junior point guard Jordan Brandt chimed in with 15 points knocking down five of seven shots from behind the three-point line. SXU took full advantage of the 18 turnovers by STU in the game as they turned those miscues into 22 points for the Cougars.
Following this victory, there was a battle of the “Cougars” as Saint Xavier learned that their opponent would be the Cougars of University of Saint Francis (Ind.). SXU felt confident in their abilities because the last time the two teams met up, SXU came away with a 78-61 victory in the Saint Xavier Cougar’s annual Holiday Tournament hosted in late December.
This game ended up a little bit differently the second time around as USF came out on absolute fire and never trailed in the contest. The Cougars of Saint Francis came in with the No. 1 seed in the bracket and they were also ranked No. 2 in the NAIA National rankings.
University of Saint Francis (Ind.) Cougars defeated the Saint Xavier Cougars, 82-69, to advance to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament. Saint Xavier was led by Stuut who posted 13 points and added six boards.
Junior guard Niara Harris also reached double figures after pouring in 10 points in the game off the bench. USF grabbed 55 rebounds in the contest compared to 27 from SXU and the Cougars of USF held a 48-20 advantage in points in the paint over the Cougars of SXU.
“Although we didn’t go as far as we would have liked to, being at the National Tournament was still a great honor,” said Broski. “I think we saw that being National Champions isn’t an unrealistic goal; being a young team allows to learn from our mistakes and improve ourselves for next season.”
“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t grab the National title this year, but I would like to commemorate the team on a great season and if it wasn’t for such a strong coaching staff at SXU , we would not have been as successful this year,” said Maloree Johnson. “I hope to have a successful season next year and help the lady Cougs grab the National title and bring it back to Chicago.”
The Cougars finished the season with a 25-7 overall record and a 17-5 record in the conference. Congratulations to Saint Xavier on a great season and good luck to the graduating seniors on the team in Maureen Riley and Romisha Taylor along with team manager, Melissa Naegele!
Greg Pilafas
Deputy Editor in Chief