Lady Cougars Open Crossroads League Play with 15-Point Victory Over Bethel
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Lady Cougars (5-3; 1-0 Crossroads) opened Crossroads League play in their season home opener at Hutzell Athletic Center when they hosted the Bethel University Pilots (4-5; 0-1 Crossroads) and prevailed 73-58 with strong defense.
Opening the game, the Pilots started out strong building an early 6-0 lead. But the Lady Cougars stayed resilient and fought their way back to take a 9-8 lead midway through the first quarter.
Then Saint Francis dominated the remainder of the frame going on to outscore Bethel 18-10 in the frame. At the start of the second quarter the Lady Cougars remained in control, maintaining their lead over Bethel throughout the frame.
Saint Francis' defense was the talk of the first half as they applied consistent pressure and got eight steals during the first half. The game went to halftime with the Lady Cougars leading 29-22. Throughout the first half Saint Francis held the Pilots to a three-point shooting percentage of just 14.3.
Heading into the second half the Lady Cougars had the momentum but not for long as the Pilots opened scoring six of the first nine points to cut the deficit down to four points, but Saint Francis stayed determined.
Within two minutes Saint Francis had built their lead back up to 10 points and kept that momentum riding throughout the remainder of the frame as the game went to the fourth quarter with Saint Francis ahead 56-39.
Then opening the fourth quarter, a three-point make by sophomore guard Chloe McKnight put the Lady Cougars ahead by 20 for the first time in the game. From there the Lady Cougars had full control and cruised their way to a 15-point victory to open conference play on a high note.
Throughout the game the Lady Cougars shot 42 percent from the floor, 38 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 79 percent from the free throw line. Chloe McKnight was the lead scorer for Saint Francis with 14 points while senior forward Cassidy Crawford led the way in rebounds with nine and had 13 points herself.
The Lady Cougars resume play on Tuesday evening when they travel to Huntington, Indiana for their first road conference game against the Huntington University Foresters (3-4) beginning at 7:00 pm.
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