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FORT WAYNE,
Ind. -- The USF women's basketball team defeated University
of Saint Francis (Ill.) 92-84 to wrap up the Stifel,
Nicolaus & Company Incorporated Classic Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Cougars got a strong effort on the boards and at
the line to knock off the Saints, an NAIA Division I program
located in Joliet, Ill.
"I am pretty
happy with the weekend. We beat two pretty good teams," USF
head coach Gary Andrews said. "Saint Francis pressures the
ball well, is athletic and hard to guard so this was a good
win."
USF limited
its guests to 15-of-38 (39%) shooting before halftime and
held a 45-34 lead at the break. The Lady Cougars shot 45%
from the floor in the first 20 minutes and outscored the
Saints 10-1 at the charity stripe.
The trend
continued after intermission as USF earned 27 free throw
opportunities to Saint Francis' eight. The Lady Cougars also
owned the paint, bullying the Saints for a 46-30 rebounding
margin.
Saint
Francis kept the score close with an accelerated three-point
barrage. Averaging over 13 made three-pointers a game coming
in, the Saints hit 8-of-15 attempts in the second half and
11-of-25 overall. The USF lead dipped to seven several times
in the second period, but 25 Saint turnovers aided the Lady
Cougar cause and adequate foul shooting sealed the victory.
Chivonn
Keppeler scored a game-high 17 points, followed by Marie
Kauffman's near double-double. The sophomore tied her
career-high with 15 points and grabbed a career-high eight
rebounds. Jessica Hathaway added 14 points and Nikki Lewis
reached double figures for the fifth-straight game to start
the season, finishing with 12. Angel Fincher scored nine
points, secured six rebounds and dished three assists for
USF, which played without guard Toni Burney due to a slight
ankle sprain.
Five Saints
scored 10 or more points with Amanda Mistretta, Jacqie Storm
and Kristina Yedinak pumping in 13 apiece.
The Lady
Cougars visit Grand Rapids, Mich., for the second-straight
road trip, taking on Davenport University on Tuesday, Nov.
14 at 6 p.m.
--
GO USF -- |
