JOLIET, Ill. --- Sparked by a 68-point effort from its bench, the University of St. Francis women's basketball team secured its first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference win of the season with its 85-44 victory over St. Ambrose University (Iowa) at the Pat Sullivan Center on Wednesday night.  Coryn Fromm and Symone Harrell were two key pieces with season-high 15- and 12-point efforts, respectively, while Abby Shepard was another with her 13 markers as part of the Fighting Saints' total output.  Overall, 15 of USF's 16 players registered their name in the points column before the contest ended.

The Saints (5-1, 1-0 CCAC) shot 24.1 percentage points higher than their opponent en route to the decisive victory, opening with a 16-for-34 performance (47.1 percent) in the game's first 20 minutes.  For the night, USF shot 50 percent (34-of-68) to St. Ambrose's 25.9 percent reading (14-of-54).

Shepard netted seven of her 13 points in the opening half, going 2-for-4 at the start.  Fromm handled the back end of the scoring with 12 of her 15 points and both of her three-pointers coming after the intermission.

Caitlyn Thole and Erica Bostwick were the only St. Ambrose players in double figures with each totaling 10 points.

The Saints had a 24-point advantage on the scoreboard in the game's first ten minutes with a 26-2 scoring run before extending the lead by as many as 27 points with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter.  The final seven minutes saw SAU (1-4, 0-1) outscore St. Francis 13-7, but USF still held a 39-18 advantage at the break.

The game's final twenty minutes never saw the Saints drop below a 20-point lead, while the scoring margin ballooned to as high as 41 points following a Taylor Schergen layup in the game's final minute. 

Like the score, the Saints also authored a huge advantage on the boards, producing a strong 48-31 difference.  Amou Ring led the charge with her game-high nine rebounds, while Harrell followed up by grabbing six boards.

Up Next
The Saints continue their three-game homestand on Saturday when they face Graceland University (Iowa) in a non-conference affair beginning at 1 pm.

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