FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The University of Saint Francis Women's Basketball team played host for the first round of the Crossroads League Conference Tournament Tuesday (2/21) night in Hutzell Athletic Center. The Lady Cougars (seeded 4th) took down the 5th seed Spring Arbor University Cougars, 65-53. 

The Lady Cougars trailed in the first quarter due to some hot shooting from the SAU visiting Cougars which came from Alize Tripp & Daelynn Jackson from behind the 3-point arc. USF bounced back due to Ally Madden subbing in and becoming a huge presence in the paint to cut down the SAU lead.

The Lady Cougars found their rhythm in the second quarter running each possession clock down to maintain some more control of the game. Clutch shooting from Julia Mantyla along with Chloe McKnight & Emily Parrett forced a 7-point lead at the half for USF, 39-32. Parrett shot 4:6 from the field in the first half & contributed 3 assists, as did Chloe McKnight. 

The Cougars came out strong at the half with a 52-44 lead after the third, with two Lady Cougars in double-digits for scoring. The Lady Cougars shot near 42% from the field during the 3rd quarter and were 50% from the foul line & 3-point range. USF outshot SAU in the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th quarters to take home the victory and advance in the Crossroads League Tourney.

Key contributors to the Lady Cougars win came from Ally Madden leading overall scoring for both sides (18 points) & adding in 10 rebounds to obtain the double-double. Emily Parrett (13 points), Julia Mantyla (12 points), & Chloe McKnight (10 points) were all also in double-digit scoring for the Lady Cougs and had a combined 7 assists & 12 rebounds. Parrett also led with the most time in the contest, recording 39:40 minutes.

USF shot 44.6% from the field and 52.9% from 3-point range. USF also led in the paint scoring 32 points opposed to SAU's 14 points. The Lady Cougars also contributed more from the bench outscoring Spring Arbor 20:6.

This win improved USF to 15-14 overall and 11-8 in the Crossroads League. The Lady Cougars will travel for their Crossroads League Semi Final match-up to take on No. 4-Ranked Indiana Wesleyan. The Semi Final will be in Marion, Indiana in Luckey Arena with a 7pm tip-off. The last match-up between these two sides resulted in an USF loss, 61-75.

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