JOLIET, Ill. --- Dealt with one blow after another during the course of the 2021-22 season, the University of St. Francis women's basketball team has always picked itself up off the canvas to prevail. Thursday night was no different in front of a raucous home crowd at the Sullivan Center.  

With both its home and overall win streaks on the line, the depleted Saints – down to just eight healthy bodies - rallied from a seven point fourth quarter deficit to advance to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title game with a 67-62 overtime victory against a scrappy Indiana University South Bend squad.

The victory capped off a perfect 14-0 season at the Sullivan Center for USF, extended its winning streak to a dozen games and locked in a championship date with Saint Xavier University at the Shannon Center on Saturday at 1 pm. 

The NAIA No.18 ranked Cougars (25-5) claimed the other semifinal round victory with a 107-69 defeat of Olivet Nazarene University to win for the 16th straight time.

Playing in the final home game of her extended six year career wearing the Brown & Gold, Andriana Acosta left it all on Pat Quigley Court on Thursday night with one of her greatest memories, a career high 30 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. It marked her 13th double double of the season and her fourth in a row.

Six of Acosta's points came in the overtime after her layup at the end of regulation was ruled to have come after the final horn to force the extra session. USF (25-6) outscored Indiana South Bend 8-3 over the final five minutes with Acosta's two free throws with one second left sealing the victory and capping off a perfect 10 for 10 night at the foul line for her.

It also ended a contest that featured 12 ties and nine lead changes with neither team leading by more than seven points. In fact, prior to Acosta's two free throws at the end, USF never led by more than three points all night long.

Its biggest deficit of 53-46 came with 7:24 remaining before Justene Charlesworth started a 13-4 rally with a three pointer. Hannah Swiatek capped it with back-to-back treys just over six minutes later, the latter coming with 48 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Saints their first lead (59-57) since the 1:03 mark of the third quarter.

IUSB's Katie Gard forced the final tie of the game at 59 all on a pair of free throws with 27 seconds to play. The Saints had two chances after that to win it in regulation but came up empty on a three pointer and on the throw in to Acosta with one second to play.

The game came down to both teams' five starters with all but seven of the combined 129 points scored coming from the starting casts. Besides Acosta, three Saint starters accounted for 35 of the other 37 points. Jordan Pyle totaled 14 points, six assists, and three blocks, Swiatek contributed 13 points and five assists and Charlesworth added eight points, eight rebounds and four steals.

Indiana South Bend (25-7) was led by the Gard sisters – Katie with 22 points and Maddie with 19 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 3:03 remaining in regulation.

USF's defense held Indiana South Bend to just 31.4 percent shooting (22-of-70) on the night, including a 5 for 21 mark (23.8 pct.) over the final 15 minutes and just one basket in seven attempts in overtime. The Titans also were 0 for 5 from three point range in the extra session and just 3 for 22 (13.6 pct.) after starting out the first quarter connecting four times in ten attempts.

The Saints finished at 42.6 percent accuracy from the field (23-of-54) with a 7-for-16 report (43.8 pct.) in the closing 15 minutes and three of their six three pointers coming in the fourth quarter.

The victory gave USF a three game series sweep of the Titans with a consistent point total pattern. Head coach John McGinty's team won each of the three games by scoring 68, 68, and 67 points.       

Up Next
The Saints and Saint Xavier will square off for the conference tournament title for the second time in three years. The Saints won the crown two years ago in Chicago 66-63.  The Cougars won this year's only meeting 71-66 back on Jan. 15 in the Shannon Center. Tip off is scheduled for 1 pm.

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