JOLIET, Ill. -- Le'lani Harris led all scorers with 33 points and the University of St. Francis women's basketball team moved to 23-3 on the season with an 88-57 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) on Wednesday night.  The decision also gave the Saints their fifteenth league win of the year (15-3), while the Crimson Wave fell to 2-14 in conference action and 5-18 overall.

Harris hit a quartet of three-pointers as part of an 11-for-16 showing from the floor in leading a starting unit that scored all but 22 of USF's points on the night.  She also was 7-for-8 at the charity stripe.

Symone Harrell (12 points) and Tykara Harrison (12 points) each recorded double figures in scoring, while Mariah Pates and Laurelei Thormeyer rounded out the starting five by netting five and four points, respectively.  Harris and Harrell also led all Saints with eight rebounds apiece.

After the Crimson Wave connected on a three-point play to tie the score at 9-9 five minutes into the game, the Saints wiped that out any hope for the visitors with a 16-2 run that went into the second quarter and gave USF a 25-11 lead.  Head coach John McGinty's club would never trail throughout the duration of the contest, but CCSJ did make things interesting in its 21-point second quarter.  The Crimson Wave would connect on eight of its 11 shots (72.7 pct.) within that period, but a 9-of-17 showing from the Saints stemmed the tide and allowed USF to cruise to a fourteen-point lead (46-32) at the halftime break.  That lead would later balloon to a 28-point advantage (73-45) by the end of the third quarter, before both teams settled for a 88-57 final score at the end of regulation.

Aided by a shooting percentage of .457 on the night (32-of-70) compared to CCSJ's .364 showing (22-of-55), the Saints also relied on their defense, forcing 25 Crimson Wave turnovers and turning those miscues into a 30-11 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.  That more than offset a balanced 40-37 rebounding battle between the two teams, with the Saints also edging out that category over the guests.

Up Next
The Saints, who are currently ranked No. 21 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, will take the court again next Wednesday when they travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to face Mount Mary University (Wis.) in another CCAC matchup.  Tip-off is 5 pm.

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