JOLIET, Ill. -- A 14-7 difference on the offensive glass resulting in a 16-10 scoring advantage in second-chance opportunities gave the University of St. Francis women's basketball team the edge it needed in claiming a tight 73-71 victory over Governors State University in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Thursday evening.

Much like its game versus Indiana University South Bend two weeks ago, St. Francis (19-6, 12-5 CCAC) benefited from its aggressive approach on the boards, winning the vast majority of 50-50 opportunities and turning them into much-needed points as Governors State outshot the Saints on the night.  Each squad knocked down four treys and 13 free throws in the contest, but GSU held a slight advantage from the field, hitting 50.0 percent of its shots (27-of-54) compared to the Saints' 44.4 percent showing (28-of-63).

Le'lani Harris was one of two Saints to score in double figures, finishing with a game-high 22 points, while Tykara Harrison tallied 19 markers.  Both players, along with Symone Harrell, each grabbed three of USF's 14 offensive boards, while two big second-half three-pointers from Coryn Fromm contributed to her nine total points.

For Governors State (20-5, 14-3), four of its five starters tallied at least ten points, topped by Tabetha Jones' 20 markers.

The Saints were able to take a one-point lead into the halftime break (29-28), but a subpar start to the third quarter allowed the Jaguars to open up a double-digit advantage (46-36) in the first five minutes.  USF responded by going on an 11-5 run to close out the frame trailing 51-47.  GSU, however, pushed the lead back up to seven points (64-57) with four minutes to play in the fourth quarter.  It was then that St. Francis made the most of its second-chance opportunities in the paint, connecting for eight straight points - aided by three offensive boards - to take a 65-64 lead.  After GSU countered with a layup, Harris hit a deep trey and followed that up with a breakaway layup to put USF up by four points (70-66) with 12 seconds left on the clock.  The Jaguars would make things interesting with a quick layup and subsequent three-pointer, but the Saints would sink three of their final four free throws in the closing seconds to seal the 73-71 win.

Up Next
The Saints are back in action this weekend when they travel to Elgin, Ill. to face Judson University on Saturday.  Tip-off is slated for 1 pm.

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