DEARBORN, Mich. – Fueled by
Abby Shepard's 18 points, the University of St. Francis women's basketball team grabbed its third victory of the season, beating University of Michigan-Dearborn 86-49 on Wednesday afternoon. Following the win, the Fighting Saints advanced their overall record to 3-0 on the season.
Although the final score reflected a large scoring disparity, the first half remained tight. Both sides opened the first quarter evenly with the score tied at nine-all through the first five minutes of play. The Saints would go on to post their largest lead of the half at 18-11 after Shepard sank a jumper with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Wolverines, however, responded with solid defense and put together a 5-0 scoring run to close out the quarter trailing by only two points at 18-16.
Tykara Harrison set the tone for the Saints in the second quarter with a quick steal 15 seconds into the period that resulted in USF taking a four-point advantage. The momentum stayed on the Saints' side, allowing them to take a 29-24 lead at the five-minute mark. The hosts responded again with two fast break layups and a three-pointer to give the Wolverines just their second lead of the night at 34-32. In the last minute of the half, St. Francis got a spark off two UMD turnovers, which resulted in a 4-0 run and a 36-34 halftime lead.
Laurelei Thormeyer got things moving for USF with a steal and a layup to start the second half. UMD answered with a fast break bucket of its own before the Saints went on an enormous 29-2 run over the next 9 minutes, 37 seconds. Shepard authored 13 points during the run to boost the Saints' lead to 65-40. St. Francis continued to build upon its lead from there, scoring 29 points compared to Michigan-Dearborn's nine to close out the game and net the 37-point win.
Along with Shepard's 18 points, Harrison added 17 of her own as well as a game-high eight rebounds in 26 minutes.
Lauren Knight shot 5-for-8 from the field in netting 10 points to go along with five boards and three steals.
Le'lani Harris delivered a game-high four assists in the contest.
Up Next
St. Francis will be back in action Saturday, November 2 at 1 pm to face Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (Ind.) in the Saints' home opener. The game will take place in the Sullivan Center on the campus of USF.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
