JOLIET, Ill. -- Le'lani Harris netted the eleventh 20-plus point game of her career, but it was not enough to keep the University of St. Francis women's basketball team from dropping its fourth Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest of the season, falling 82-78 to Olivet Nazarene University on Saturday afternoon at the Sullivan Center.

Olivet Nazarene (15-7, 12-2 CCAC) countered with two double-figure scorers, 10 three-pointers and a 20-point second quarter to offset Harris' performance.  The latter statistic proved to be the difference in the end as the Tigers outscored USF 20-13 in the quarter, including a 13-0 run over a three-minute span.

The Saints (17-5, 10-4) were up by double digits with three minutes to go in the first quarter, but the Tigers began to erase the 12-point deficit with a 14-5 run to cut the score to three points (26-23) by the end of the period.  That rally would carry over into the midway point of the second frame, where ONU took its first lead of the game at 31-30 before settling for a 43-39 advantage at the halftime break.

The Tigers led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter before the Saints started a furious comeback to claw back to within one point (60-59) one minute before the third quarter concluded.

Head coach John McGinty's club would match that deficit four times in the fourth quarter, including 79-78 with 56 seconds to play, but could not get any closer, missing out on chances in their next two possessions to take the lead.

The Saints finished with a higher rebounding total than ONU (45-42), but the latter held a 20-13 advantage in offensive boards and recorded 19 points off turnovers compared to just eight for USF.

Harris finished the day hitting six of her 18 shots from the field for 21 points, with a quartet of three-pointers and a 5-of-6 showing from the charity stripe.  She also recorded six rebounds and two steals.

Also scoring in double figures were Tykara Harrison (20 points, 5 rebounds) and Laurelei Thormeyer (13 points).  Amou Ring led all rebounders with 11, while Symone Harrell was close behind with 10.

Olivia Dirkse topped Olivet Nazarene with 20 points, while Brooklyn Marshall led her team with seven rebounds.

Up Next
The Saints will travel to Notre Dame, Ind. on Wednesday, February 5 to face Holy Cross College in a CCAC matchup.  Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 pm.

You can also keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.