FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Friday evening the University of Saint Francis Lady Cougars (3-0) traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Cardinal Stritch University Wolves (0-3) in the 2022 Franciscan Bowl hosted by Cardinal Stritch and backed by strong defense won 57-53.

Opening the game, the Lady Cougars quickly found themselves trailing 8-4 but scored five unanswered points to take the lead and then both teams exchanged leads and ties through the next several minutes. The first quarter ended with Saint Francis trailing 19-18.

In the second quarter the Lady Cougars defense stepped up and allowed the offense to get the momentum. During the frame they went on to score 12 unanswered points to suddenly lead by five points and maintained their lead from there as the game went to halftime with Saint Francis leading 34-30.

Opening the second half the Lady Cougars and Wolves kept answering each other without the lead getting any bigger than four points in the early going. Then the Wolves suddenly surged ahead scoring six unanswered points to take a 41-39 lead.

Though in the final minute of the third quarter junior forward Cassidy Crawford was fouled and sent to the line and sank both free throws to give Saint Francis the lead back as they led 43-41 entering the fourth quarter.

Once again, another back-and-forth battle ensued during the final frame. Early on the Lady Cougars extended their lead to five points but the Wolves didn't go quietly rallying to score six unanswered points again to regain a one-point lead over Saint Francis.

Then with five minutes remaining in the contest the score was tied at 49 and the game was up for grabs.

It was then freshman guard Julia Mantyla who sank a layup to give the Lady Cougars the lead back 51-49, and the tense battle was entering the final two minutes. The clock winded down and the Lady Cougars led 56-53 and a late shot in the final minute by the Wolves fell short, and then Saint Francis made the free throws they needed to make to ensure the win and improve to 3-0 to open the season.

Throughout the game, the Lady Cougars shot 32 percent from the floor, 27 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 83 percent from the free throw line. Cassidy Crawford had a double-double scoring 11 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds while junior guard Reganne Pate led the scoring with 12 points.

The Lady Cougars resume play on Saturday afternoon when they wrap up the Franciscan Bowl with a game against the Saint Francis Illinois Fighting Saints (1-0) beginning at 3:00 pm.

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.