SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Saint Francis held the Spring Arbor University women's basketball team to just six points over the final eight and a half minutes of the first half on its way to an 86-68 win over the Cougars on Wednesday night inside the SAU Fieldhouse.
The loss dropped the Cougars to 6-12 overall and 1-6 in the Crossroads League while Saint Francis, who entered the contest ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, improved to 14-5 and 5-2 in conference play.
Spring Arbor held its own against the defending national champions early on, taking an 18-13 lead midway through the opening half following back-to-back baskets from Jessica Mabry and Autumn Goggin. The Cougar defense stifled the high-powered USF offense, liming it to 5-for-17 from the field and forcing seven turnovers through the first nine minutes.
However, Saint Francis settled in and leaned on its nationally-ranked defense to stall the Cougars, outscoring SAU 25-6 over the final 8:32 of the period to take a 44-29 advantage into the locker room.
Spring Arbor went toe-to-toe with USF in the second half, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
Saint Francis used its size to its advantage, scoring 40 points in the paint and out-rebounding SAU 53-38 on the night.
Mabry finished with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting while dishing out three assists. Senior Lindsey Burnside narrowly missed a double-double, recording 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Faith Johnson and Cara Hoffman chipped in nine points apiece while sophomore Kylie Townsley added seven points and seven boards.
Up next, Spring Arbor will hit the road for a pair of games against NAIA Top 10 ranked squads. The Cougars will visit No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan University on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. before facing off against No. 10 Marian University on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
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