MESA, Ariz. --- A spirited fourth quarter rally by the University of St. Francis women's basketball team came up just short as the Saints nearly overcame an 18 point second half deficit before falling 70-64 to NAIA No.16 ranked Vanguard University (Calif.) at the Cactus Classic on Tuesday afternoon.

Trailing 43-25 early in the third quarter, head coach John McGinty's club put together 8-0 and 9-0 runs over the final 11 minutes of the contest to pull to within 65-64 with 46 seconds remaining. Airiana Madanski, however, spoiled the upset bid when she answered USF's final basket with a three pointer 15 seconds later to extend the Vanguard lead back to four points. The Saints (11-5) then missed on their own three point attempt before the Lions closed out the contest with a pair of free throws.

Vanguard (6-3) had opened the game scoring eight of the first ten points and extended the lead to ten points at the 6:32 mark of the second quarter. The Lions would maintain a double figure advantage for the next 18 minutes until the Saints went on their first run of eight unanswered points to close to within 54-46.

The loss overshadowed career days for Jordan Pyle and Kalyn Sias-Chaney, who led the short-handed Saints, who were without a pair of starters for the second game in a row. Pyle recorded a personal-best 33 points and a season high 10 rebounds, while shooting 14-of-21 from the field. Sias-Chaney produced a career high 15 points to go along with three assists and a pair of steals. 

Jorja Bolton added another nine markers.

Vanguard also had a 30-point scorer in Gabriela Rosas (31 points) with Madanski adding 20 points, including 18 on six three pointers.

USF shot 57.1 percent from the field during the fourth-quarter rally, while Vanguard shot 50 percent in the opening quarter to build a 21-14 lead. The Lions doubled that advantage in the second quarter with an 18-11 point differential. The Saints won the final two quarters, 16-15 and 23-16.

For the game, both teams finished in the low 40 percent shooting range.Vanguard was 26-of-60 (43.3 percent), while the Saints were 24-of-58 (41.4 percent). Both teams combined to turn over the ball just 17 times.

Up Next
The Saints are off for the remainder of 2021 before returning to Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play against Olivet Nazarene University on January 5 at 5:30 pm.

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