CHICAGO -- Aided by matching 19-point scoring efforts from Tykara Harrison and Le'lani Harris, the University of St. Francis women's basketball team secured a home playoff berth to start the postseason with a tight 66-63 victory over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Saint Xavier University on Saturday afternoon at the Shannon Center.

The win enabled the Fighting Saints (22-6, 15-5 CCAC) to edge out Indiana University Northwest for the third seed in next week's CCAC Tournament based on tie-breaking procedures.  USF will host sixth-seeded Indiana University South Bend to begin postseason play on Wednesday.

With the exception of a 3-0 start by St. Francis, Saint Xavier (18-10, 14-6) led the entirety of the first period and ballooned its lead to as high as 14 points two minutes into the second frame.  The Saints would respond at that point with an aggressive 20-2 scoring run - capped by Harris' personal nine-point burst, - to turn a 30-16 SXU advantage into a 36-32 USF edge at the intermission.

The third quarter showcased four lead changes and four ties before three straight buckets to close out the frame - including a deep three-pointer from Lauren Knight - pushed USF's lead to seven points (54-47).  The Saints would maintain that advantage midway into the fourth quarter.

Saint Xavier, however, would not go away, getting as close as one point with 34 seconds remaining in the final period.  Two free throws by Laurelei Thormeyer gave the Saints a three-point advantage with 11 seconds remaining on the clock, but still allowing the Cougars one last opportunity to try to force an overtime period.  An SXU three-pointer at the buzzer fell short, however, allowing St. Francis to seal the 66-63 victory.

USF recorded a shooting mark of 37.7 percent on the day, converting at a 23-of-61 clip.  At the free-throw line, St. Francis was 11-for-16 (68.8 pct.), while producing a 32.1 pct. effort (9-of-28) rom beyond the arc.

On the opposite end, Saint Xavier hit at percentages of 41.4 from the field (24-of-58), 26.3 percent from three-point range (5-of-19) and 62.5 percent at the free-throw line (10-of-16).

Along with Harrison and Harris, Thormeyer was the only other Saint to score in double figures with her 10 markers.  Harrison totaled a team-high five assists, while Amou Ring finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Jaidn Green and Ryann Ogarek led Saint Xavier with 13 points each.

Up Next
St. Francis will host Indiana South Bend on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the first round of the CCAC Tournament.  Game time is slated for 7 pm.

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