saints swept by st. Francis

By ADAM AKAN sports Writer

both the women’s and men’s holy cross saints basketball teams took the floor against the University of st. Francis Fighting saints last night. The 14-11 women and 11-13 men traveled to Joliet, Illinois, for a conference game. Their conference records sat at 9-8 and 7-10, respectively, entering the matchup.

The men’s team saw a back and forth game, with holy cross trading buckets with st. Francis early. The Fighting saints would go on a blazing run as the half ended, extending their lead to 36-28 at halftime. Freshman forward Tommy snyder led the first-half scoring for the saints with 11 efficient points.

The saints offense lit the floor on fire in the second half, shooting 77% from the field and an unbelievable 75% from three point range. A 15-0 mid-half run by the red-hot saints saw the game tied at 54-54.

The game remained knotted up at 65-65 with two minutes left in the match, but the saints’ poor defense would again come back to haunt them. The Fighting saints went a 9-2 run to seal the game, overpowering the offensively impressive saints. Tommy snyder led the scoring with 25 points, with sophomore guard nash hostetler adding ten points as well. senior forward mick sullivan also had 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.

The holy cross women’s team was in a fistfight in the first quarter, emerging with a 16-15 deficit after shooting 47% from the field. The saints began to be overwhelmed in the second quarter. They placed poor defense on the perimeter, allowing st. Francis to drain seven threes. The saints trailed 42-28 at halftime. sophomore forward Grace Adams posted a double-double with 16 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Lauren morris contributed 12 points of her own, with senior guard Jayda miller adding 11.

The third quarter proved no better for holy cross. The saints struggled offensively, only putting up 10 points while the Fighting saints managed 17. They entered the fourth down 59-38. despite an offensive explosion that saw them post 26 points in the final quarter, the deficit was too large to overcome as st. Francis continued scoring. The saints fell 83-64.

With these games, the men’s team drops to 11-14 on the season and 7-11 in the ccAc. The women now sit at 14-12 on the year and 9-9 in ccAc play. The women will return to action for their final home game of the season this saturday against saint Ambrose at 1 p.m. The men will play the same opponent at home at 3 p.m..

Contact Adam Akan at aakan@nd.edu

Perhaps the most important contribution the Irish got on Thursday, at least in Ivey’s eyes, may not have come from a starter. Junior forward n atalija m arshall has rarely eclipsed more than 10 minutes on the floor in any given game this year. s he played 16 minutes against the Panthers, including a crucial seven in the fourth quarter.

After junior forward Kylee Watson picked up her fourth foul heading into the final frame, Ivey opted to give an extended run to m arshall instead of risking Watson fouling out. And even though m arshall’s statline may not pop out on a box score (posting three rebounds and one assist), she repaid her coaches’ faith.

With the Irish trying to protect a one-score lead early in the fourth quarter, Pitt tried to pick on the rotational forward by attacking the rim. b ut m arshall stood tall, drawing an important charge to put the Irish once again on the attack. o n the next Pitt possession, m arshall would bring down her second board of the game. That led to a Westbeld layup that put the Irish in control with a two-score advantage.

Ivey complimented m arshall’s work off the bench after the game.

“The play of the game was her charge,” said Ivey. “I thought she was just really solid defensively. s he has a great motor. h er size, her athleticism, it really helps us. o n the boards, she got a couple 50/50 balls. s he did a lot of the little things we needed. I thought her energy was great, we fed off it. In particular that charge, she saved that play, which could have really changed the game.” n otre d ame will continue a four-game homestand on s unday, with s yracuse coming to s outh b end. The o range sit in the middle of the pack in the A cc standings, with a perfectly even 7-7 record. Though the two teams’ first meeting in January ended in a comfortable Irish victory, s yracuse trailed by just five heading into the fourth quarter. n otre d ame’s 16-point cushion at the final whistle was their largest lead of the game. s unday’s rematch will tip-off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the A cc n etwork.”