GARY, Ind. -- The University of St. Francis women's basketball team saw a 17-point second-half lead shrink to a tie score before claiming a 63-58 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference win over Indiana University Northwest on Saturday afternoon.  Free throws proved to be a key factor in the outcome with the Saints burying a perfect 23-of-23 chances from the charity stripe in the five-point victory.  The win marked the Fighting Saints' fifth in a row, improving their overall record to 8-1, while maintaining a perfect 3-0 mark in league play.

With St. Francis holding a 17-point lead (37-20) after the first half, the RedHawks would take advantage of a dismal USF shooting performance in the third quarter, outscoring the Saints 20-8 to cut their deficit to just four points (45-41) heading into the fourth period.  IUN defenders held St. Francis to just one basket in nine attempts in the 10-minute quarter, but USF's perfect showing from the free throw line (6-of-6) kept it in the contest.

St. Francis led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter, but streaky shooting from the RedHawks eventually knotted the score at 54-54 with 3:35 to play.  A Laurelei Thormeyer three-pointer quickly thereafter eventually slowed the IUN momentum.  Tykara Harrison added a layup to the Saints' point total two possessions later with 1:04 on the clock, but Indiana Northwest would get the difference back to one point (59-58) with just 47 seconds to play in the contest.

With the shot clock winding down on the following possession, the Saints' shot attempt came up short.  Coryn Fromm, however, would come down with the big offensive rebound with 17 seconds remaining, forcing the RedHawks to foul.  USF's free-throw shooters would come through again, nailing four straight charity-stripe attempts in the game's remaining seconds to hold on and seal the 63-58 victory.

Harrison led the way for USF with a team-high 19 points, shooting 5-for-13 from the field.  Le'lani Harris provided 17 points and pulled down six boards, while Baylei Johnson recorded a team-best nine rebounds.  Harrison and Harris' contributions from the free-throw line allowed the Saints to register 17 total points.  Thormeyer also chipped in nine points to USF's total with the help of three treys.  For the game, St. Francis shot 31.6 percent from the field (18-of-57) and 19 percent from behind the arc (4-of-21).

Jessica Carrothers poured in a game-high 23 points for Indiana Northwest, which fell to 8-2 overall and 2-1 in CCAC action on the season.  The RedHawks committed 14 turnovers compared to USF's eight and shot 36.1 percent from the field (22-of-61).

Up Next
The Saints are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 11 when they travel to Olivet Nazarene University to face-off against the Tigers at 7 pm.     

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