CHICAGO, Ill. – Katie Gard led IU South Bend in scoring for the first time this season, finishing with 16 points, but a tough night shooting led to a 67-54 loss at No. 15 Saint Xavier on Wednesday night.

Gard finished with six rebounds along with her team-high 16 points, while Sara Doi tallied 13 points and three assists, with a 3-for-8 performance from three-point range. Emma Fisher posted 11 points with six boards and five assists, and Courtney Hayes pulled down 13 rebounds on the night.

The Titans (6-3, 1-2 CCAC) struggled to find their shot early, going 2-for-17 from the floor in the first quarter. Saint Xavier (5-0, 3-0 CCAC) finished the quarter with eight straight points, to take a 14-8 lead by the end of the period.

A three-pointer from Rachel Robards at the 6:34 mark of the second quarter closed the Cougar lead to 17-16, but the Titans would be held without a field goal for the next five minutes, allowing Saint Xavier go on a 9-1 run and rebuild their advantage. Doi's three-pointer ended the drought, and a jumper from Fisher in the closing seconds made it a 28-22 score in favor of the home team at the halftime break.

IU South Bend briefly took the lead in the third quarter, opening the second half with seven straight points to go up 29-28 on Gard's layup at the 7:47 mark. Two more buckets from Gard would tie the game after the Cougars went back out in front, but another scoring drought would see just one field goal over the final 4:48 of the third quarter, and SXU would lead 44-38 going into the fourth.

The home team would pull away in the final period, going up by as much as 12 points after an 8-2 run to start the fourth quarter. The Titans were unable to turn the momentum around during the stretch, as Saint Xavier secured the win by a double-digit margin.

The Titans will look to bounce back when they return to the Student Activities Center on Saturday, November 20. IUSB will play host to Lincoln for a CCAC matchup set for 1:00 p.m.