UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. --- Topped by
Jordan Pyle's 24 points and another 21 from
Justene Charlesworth, the University of St. Francis women's basketball team led from start to finish in an 80-67 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Governors State University on Wednesday night. For Charlesworth, the season-high output enabled her to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for her career.
Charlesworth opened the contest with a three-pointer as the Saints (14-4, 9-2 CCAC) raced out to a 16-4 advantage in the game's first seven minutes and led by ten points at the intermission. They would never lead by less than ten points the rest of the night courtesy of a 50.9 percent shooting effort from the field (27-of-53). USF shot no less than 50 percent after the first quarter, including 61.5 percent in the third quarter (8-of-13) when the lead swelled to as high as 21 points.
Head coach
John McGinty's club was equally as hot from three-point range, going 10-for-21 (47.6 pct.) for its second-best shooting mark from long distance on the season. That is where all of Charlesworth's points came from with seven in nine attempts. The Saints also went 16-of-22 at the foul line (72.7 pct.).
Just off her CCAC Player of the Week honors, Pyle had another solid all-around effort. Besides her 24 points, she also recorded nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. She went 7-for-13 from the field and 8-of-10 at the foul line.
Hannah Swiatek was also part of the double-figure scoring club, finishing with 12 points to go along with a game-high six assists.
Autumn Shull added another eight points.
Governors State's Angelique Cowan led all scorers with 29 points on 12-of-23 shooting. The Jaguars fell to 5-14 overall and 5-6 in league play with the loss.
Notes: Charlesworth also scored 21 points on seven three-pointers in USF's win over Great Lakes Christian College (Mich.) back on Dec. 2 … The seven treys are the most by any Saint this season … Charlesworth is 12 of her last 16 from the field (.750) over the past two games ... Shull's eight points marked her highest-scoring effort wearing the Brown & Gold … Pyle tied a USF season mark with her eight free throws on the night … USF converted better than 50 percent of its shots for the second game in a row and the fifth time this season … St. Francis is back home on Saturday to face Saint Xavier University at 1 pm.
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