Joliet, Ill. – Senior center
Alyssa Crenshaw (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown) scored a team-high 20 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and she was 8-for-9 from the foul line, however the Saint Xavier University women's basketball team (10-7, 6-3 CCAC) lost to University of St. Francis (Ill.) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) contest Wednesday evening at the Sullivan Center in Joliet, Ill. Crenshaw moved closer to reaching a career milestone as she climbed to No. 23 in career scoring for the Cougars, sitting just 19 points shy of 1,000 with 981 points. She added eight rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
Neither team was able to establish a foothold in the first quarter as the Fighting Saints led 12-11 after the first 10 minutes with both squads shooting below 30.0 percent: Saint Xavier at 26.7 percent (4-for-15), and St. Francis at 17.6 percent (3-for-17). The Cougars were held to 11 points in the second period and trailed by as many as 13 points, 32-19, before heading into halftime down 32-21.
Crenshaw scored 12 of her 20 points in the third quarter on 5-for-5 shooting and sinking a pair of free-throws as SXU made 10 of its 19 shot attempts (52.6 percent) to pull within four points, 50-46, entering the final frame. Saint Xavier went cold in the fourth quarter, shooting 28.6 percent (4-for-14), while USF went 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from the floor to pull away for the win.
- Freshman forward Veronica Bafia (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) collected 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, five rebounds, three steals, an assist and a blocked shot.
- Graduate student guard/forward Ryann Ogarek (Joliet, Ill./Benedictine/Lewis/Providence Catholic) also tallied 10 points, along with nine rebounds and an assist.
- Junior center Eleanor Harris (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) came away with eight points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal.
- Freshman guard Maeve Egan (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) posted five points, three rebounds, a career-best three steals and a pair of assists.
- Senior guard Aaliyahna Derrell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sand Creek) issued a game-high six assists while adding three points and two rebounds.
Saint Xavier (10-7/6-3 CCAC) travels to Bourbonnais, Ill. to play Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) on Saturday, January 18 in CCAC competition. The game is set for a 1:00 pm start.