UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. -- Le'lani Harris scored the 1,000th point of her collegiate career while Tykara Harrison led all scorers with 22 points and the University of St. Francis women's basketball team moved to a perfect 6-0 on the season with a 57-46 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Governors State University on Saturday afternoon.  The decision also gave the Saints their first league win of the year (1-0), while the Jaguars settled for their first loss of the season and fell to 0-1 in conference action with a 4-1 overall record.

Harrison hit one three-pointer as part of a 9-for-15 showing from the floor in leading a starting unit that scored all but five of USF's points on the night.  She also was a perfect 3-for-3 at the charity stripe.

Harris (16 points) also recorded double figures in scoring, while Symone Harrell (nine points), Laurelei Thormeyer (three) and Mariah Pates (two) rounded out the starting five.  Coryn Fromm came off the bench to account for USF's remaining five points.

St. Francis outscored Governors State 10-7 on second-chance opportunities courtesy of a 51-28 difference in rebounding.  Harrell led the Saints' charge with 10 boards, while Pates pulled down nine.

Governors State, who is currently receiving votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' poll, held the lead for the first five minutes of the opening period until the Saints went on a 12-5 run midway through the second frame.  Harris started it with her mid-range jumper and contributed five additional points to the scoring burst with Harrell capping it off with a three-pointer to aid in helping the Saints withstand a late 9-2 scoring run by the Jaguars that sent the two teams into the locker room with a 32-29 USF advantage at the break.

St. Francis would extend their lead past a one-possession game no less than five times in the third quarter, but each time the Jaguars would come up with a clutch basket to keep their deficit close.  After a Harrison layup gave the Saints their largest lead of the quarter (36-29) with 5:31 remaining in the period, USF's offense then locked in and totaled 19 additional points over the next 10 minutes - which included a layup from Harris which marked the 1,000 point of her collegiate career - while holding the visitors to 16 to go up double-digits (55-45) with two minutes remaining to play in the final period.  Late free throws from both sides would account for the remaining three points of the affair to confirm the final score at 57-46.

Aided by a shooting percentage of .423 on the night (22-of-52), the Saints also relied on their defense, forcing GSU to produce a .309 showing (17-of-55) in the same category. That more than offset a 20-8 turnover advantage by Governors State, which resulted in a 20-13 point swing for the Jaguars.

Up Next
The Saints, who are currently ranked No.18 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, will take the court again on Wednesday when they host Viterbo University (Wis.) in another CCAC matchup.  Tip-off is at 5 pm in the Pat Sullivan Center.

You can keep up with all things USF on X @USFSaints.