#9 USF Earns Senior Day Win Over SAU 77-57; Secures No. 2 Seed in CL Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Spring Arbor (MI) (18-10, 11-7) | 15 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 57 |
|
#9 Saint Francis (Ind.) (25-3, 15-3) | 16 | 23 | 17 | 21 | 77 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The No. 9 ranked University of Saint Francis women's basketball team secured the No. 2 seed in the Crossroads League after earning a 77-57 win over Spring Arbor during Senior Day on Saturday, February 22.
Before the start of Saturday afternoon's matchup, the USF women's basketball team held a short, on-court ceremony to honor its senior class.
Saint Francis and Spring Arbor started the game with strong defensive displays, resulting in neither team scoring until the 7:33 mark of the first quarter. SAU initially took the lead with a score of 9-2, but USF responded with a 10-3 run, tying the game at 12-12 with 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Saint Francis ended the first quarter ahead, 16-15. In the second quarter, the USF Cougars shot an impressive 56.3% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. As a result, USF outscored SAU 23-13 in the second quarter, leading to a halftime score of 39-28 in favor of USF.
USF extended its lead to 43-28 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Spring Arbor cut Saint Francis's lead to just seven points with under three minutes remaining in the quarter. Senior Chloe McKnight drained two of her seven total three-pointers in the last two and a half minutes, helping to increase USF's advantage to 56-45 as they entered the fourth quarter. A jump shot from Cali Gregory with 1:52 left on the clock gave the USF Cougars their biggest lead of the afternoon at 77-55. Saint Francis had another strong performance in the fourth quarter, outscoring Spring Arbor 21-12, which secured their sixth consecutive win and the No. 2 seed in the Crossroads League Tournament.
USF shot 48.3% (28-58) from the floor and 52.5% (12-23) from three-point range while outscoring SAU in the paint 32-14. Gregory finished with 31 points, tying her career-high. The freshman also dished out three assists and came away with three steals. McKnight finished with 21 points, two steals and a block against Spring Arbor. Taylor Fordyce added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Isabella Gizzi had a team-high six rebounds and seven points, while Cassidy Crawford had six points, four assists and two blocks.
USF women's basketball concludes the regular season with an overall record of 25-3 and a Crossroads League record of 15-3. After securing the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the Cougars will host the No. 7 seed Bethel University on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hutzell Athletic Center.
Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.
