JOLIET, Ill. --- Tykara Harrison continued her scoring frenzy, Le'lani Harris put up 19 points in just her second game back from a two-plus-month injury and the University of St. Francis women's basketball team rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, but Holy Cross College (Ind.) could not miss in the extra period in coming away with a 98-88 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Pat Sullivan Center on Wednesday night.

An early run of seven straight points put the Fighting Saints up 15-10 and they held that lead throughout the remainder of the opening half in taking a 36-30 advantage into the break.  Holy Cross, however, came out of the intermission on fire.  After converting at just a .375 clip (12-of-32) over the first 20 minutes of play, the guests went 10-of-14 in the third quarter with five of the field goals coming from long range to outscore USF 30-13 and take a 60-49 lead into the final stanza.

Holy Cross (12-11, 9-6 CCAC) would still lead by double figures (69-59) with just under six minutes remaining in regulation.  The next 2:36 belonged completely to the Saints and, in particular, Harrison and Mia Kennelly, who combined for the next ten points of the game to knot the contest at 69-all.  Harrison hit back-to-back layups to get things started before a three-pointer and a traditional three-point play from Kennelly capped off the run.

Holy Cross would regain a four-point advantage later on before both Talia Pellegrini and Harris stepped up with clutch treys.  Pellegrini's came with 2:05 left to pull the Saints within one point (73-72), while Harris' basket with 68 seconds to play eventually forced overtime.  Holy Cross had two chances and St. Francis one to break the 75-all tie in the closing minute, but neither team could, sending the game to the extra period.

Holy Cross could not miss in overtime, making all four of its three-point attempts and five-of-six shots overall, while going 9-of-10 at the foul line in totaling 23 points in the five-minute extra session.  USF, which shot 60 percent from the field (9-of-15) during the fourth-quarter rally, was solid in the extra period, as well, shooting 50 percent both overall (4-of-8) and from three-point distance (2-for-4).

HCC finished the contest converting at just over a 50 percent clip (32-of-63, .508), while hitting at that rate from three-point range (10-of-20) and going 24-for-29 at the free-throw line (.828).  The Saints (8-15, 4-11) finished the night at .457 (32-of-70) and matched Holy Cross' ten treys, while going 14-of-21 on free throws (.667).

Holy Cross also held a sizable 48-29 rebounding advantage, which resulted in a 20-9 point differential on second-chance opportunities.

Harrison finished the night with 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field.  She also contributed seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.  Laurelei Thormeyer scored in double figures for the fourth straight game, totaling 16 markers.

Holy Cross' Grace Adams led all scorers (29 points) and rebounders (20 caroms), while hitting 11-of-14 shots from the field and 7-of-10 free throws.  She was one of five HCC starters to net at least 11 points.

Notes: The contest featured ten ties and five lead changes … USF's 88 points were its second-highest total of the season and the second game in a row hitting the 80-point mark … Harrison, who has scored ten-or-more points in 16 straight contests, has averaged 25 points over her last three games.  She tied both the team's season-high marks in field goals (11) and assists (seven) on Wednesday … Harris' 19-point effort was her second-highest scoring output of the season … The Saints are home again Saturday to face Roosevelt University for a 1 pm CCAC tipoff.

Links to live coverage can be found at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on Twitter @USFSaints.