JOLIET, Ill. --- A furious fourth-quarter rally went all for naught for the NAIA No.16 ranked University of St. Francis women's basketball team as Maggie Cora's rebound basket with 1.6 seconds left finally put an end to the Saints' 15-2 surge and sent Olivet Nazarene University to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship game with a 70-68 victory Saturday afternoon at the Sullivan Center.
 

ONU, which took two of three games from the Saints this season, now advances to the title game Monday night against Saint Xavier University at 7 pm with its 17-3 record.  USF, meanwhile, will now prepare for the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round after earning its automatic bid by finishing in second place in the conference during the regular season.
 

The Saints (22-5) will find out their next opponent on Thursday (March 4) when the NAIA announces the 48-team field for the Opening Round, which takes place March 12-13 at 16 different sites.
 

Cora's rebound and basket was the last of 18 offensive boards and 26 second-chance points for Olivet Nazarene opposite 11 second-opportunity points for the Saints. The Tigers also outscored USF 24-11 off turnovers in a game that featured five ties and eight lead changes.
 

Both teams used 9-0 runs to gain leads in the first half with the Saints producing the latter one to take a 31-27 lead into the break. Two straight baskets to open the third quarter would eventually extend St. Francis' lead to its highest amount at 35-27.
 

The lead remained at eight points two minutes into the quarter when Olivet Nazarene put together the first of two double-digit scoring runs. Trailing 38-30, the Tigers registered 15 of the next 18 points over a 5:24 span to go up 45-41 with the final two ONU baskets coming off offensive rebounds. USF went 0-for-4 from the field during that stretch with five of its eight turnovers in the period. For the game, the Saints totaled 19 miscues.
 

Olivet Nazarene's second big push came after a Lacey Gardner (SR/Spring Grove, Ill.) layup brought the Saints to within one point, 49-48, to open the fourth quarter. The 11-1 run by the Tigers made it a 60-49 contest, which would eventually get as high as 66-53 – the game's biggest lead for either team – with just over three minutes to play.
 

That is when the Saints kicked their offense into overdrive scoring 15 of the next 17 points, including ten unanswered, to force the final tie on Shadrian McDaniel's (JR/Chicago, Ill.) layup with eight seconds to play. Jordan Pyle (JR/Traralgon, Australia), who finished with a team-high 17 points, hit clutch back-to-back three-pointers during the rally with Justene Charlesworth (JR/Wanatah, Ind.) contributing five of her 13 points at the same time.
 

USF also had one last chance at the win after Cora's basket, but Leah Sims' (SR/Chicago, Ill.) three-point attempt from the right side hit off the glass and the rim.
 

Sims was one of four Saints to score in double figures finishing with 14 points, which was second-best on the team. McDaniel provided 12 points, while Andriana Acosta (SR/Crest Hill, Ill.) led the Saints in rebounding (10 boards) and also contributed seven points.
 

Kennedy Johnson was the only ONU player to record more than eight points, ending with a game-high 22 markers.