JOLIET, Ill. --- Jordan Pyle tied a career high with 33 points, but it was not enough to keep the NAIA No. 19-ranked University of St. Francis women's basketball team from dropping its second straight game, falling 86-72 to Olivet Nazarene University in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night at the Sullivan Center.

Olivet Nazarene (9-6, 6-2 CCAC) countered with four double-figure scorers, 15 three-pointers and a 28-point third quarter to offset Jordan's performance.  The latter statistic proved to be the difference in the end as the Tigers outscored USF 28-13 in the quarter, including 18-2 in the last five minutes.

The Saints (12-4, 7-2) fell behind by double digits for the first time early in the second quarter, but erased that ten-point deficit with a 14-3 run to gain a 28-27 edge.  Pyle's six points and another five from Mia Kennelly sparked the rally.

It stayed tight until the midpoint of the third quarter when the Saints committed five of their season-high 19 turnovers, while, at the same time, ONU was knocking down seven of its eight shots.  That resulted in Olivet Nazarene taking a 64-46 lead – its biggest of the night – into the fourth quarter.

Head coach John McGinty's club would cut that deficit in half twice in the fourth quarter, including 74-65 with 4:32 to play, but could not get any closer, missing out on three straight chances over the next two minutes to tighten up the contest even more.

The Saints finished with two more field goals than ONU, but the latter held a 15-9 advantage in treys and went 15-for-16 at the foul line compared to just 3-for-7 for USF.  The Tigers also gained 19 points off USF turnovers and shot nearly 50 percent from long range (15-of-31, .484).

Pyle finished the night hitting 14 of her 24 shots from the field with a trio of three-pointers.  She also recorded seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Also scoring in double figures were Kennelly (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Alina Jahnke (13 points). Jahnke also led all rebounders with eight caroms.

Caroline Boehne topped Olivet Nazarene with both 17 points and seven rebounds.  Olivia Demosthenes was next in line with 15 markers.

Notes: Pyle's other 33-point performance came against Vanguard University (Calif.) on Dec. 21, 2021.  She had 14 field goals that night just like on Wednesday, which was a season high for any Saint … Pyle also just missed tying her career high in assists, which is eight … Olivet Nazarene's 15 treys and 11 steals were both season-high marks by a St. Francis opponent this year … Nine different Tiger players hit at least one three-pointer … The contest featured four ties and 12 lead changes … USF's largest lead on the night was no more than two points … The Saints have not lost three games in a row since the 2017-18 campaign.  They will look to keep that mark intact when they travel to Milwaukee on Saturday to face Cardinal Stritch University in a CCAC matchup.      

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