Strong Third Quarter Propels Cougars Past (RV) Foresters for Tenth Straight Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(RV) Huntington (5-4, 1-2) | 22 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 62 |
|
#13 Saint Francis (Ind.) (10-0, 3-0) | 19 | 15 | 32 | 12 | 78 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) women's basketball team used a strong third quarter to propel the Cougars to a 78-62 win over (RV) Huntington University in Crossroads League action on Wednesday, December 4.
The Cougars and Foresters got off to a slow start in the first quarter of Wednesday night's matchup. Huntington made a layup to put the first points on the board at the 8:43 mark. The two teams battled in the opening quarter, with Huntington grabbing a three-point lead going into the second quarter. After the Foresters took a 27-19 lead with just over eight minutes left in the second, the Cougars went on a 11-2 run to retake the lead with the score at 30-29 at the 4:16 mark. The back-and-forth battle continued, but HU would snag a one-point lead at halftime.
Saint Francis forced four consecutive Huntington turnovers to open the second half of action. The Cougars' offense capitalized and got hot in the third quarter as the Cougars shot 77.8% from the floor and 66.7% from three-point range to outscore the Foresters 32-12 for the 66-47 lead going into the fourth. USF maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the game, with the gap staying above 10 points in the final 10 minutes. The Cougars won Wednesday's game by a final score of 78-62 to remain undefeated on the season.
Overall, USF shot 54.1% (33-61) from the field and 41.2% (7-17) from three-point range while outrebounded the Foresters 30-23 and outscoring Huntington in the paint 52-26. Graduate student Cassidy Crawford shot 10-15 from the floor en route to 24 points. The graduate student also had three steals, two blocks and four assists on the night. Chloe McKnight finished with 14 points and five rebounds, while Cali Gregory had 11 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Julia Mantyla led in rebounds with eight and blocks with three while contributing 10 points and a pair of assists.
Up next, USF women's basketball (10-0, 3-0) will travel to Bethel University for their last conference game of 2024 on December 6.
Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.
