Tipoff
• IU South Bend continues their conference tournament run on Thursday night, when they travel to St. Francis to take on the 2nd-seeded Saints in the CCAC Tournament Semifinals.
• The Titans are winners of ten in a row, with an average margin of victory of 22.3 points per game during the win streak.
• Ten straight victories marks the third-longest win streak for IUSB in the
Steve Bruce era (2006-07).• The team's third-place finish in the CCAC regular season is the highest result since 2010-11, when they also finished 3rd.
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Maddie Gard leads the team with 16.0 points per game, and ranks 4th in scoring in the CCAC.
• The Titans are averaging 75.3 points per game, good for 3rd-most in the CCAC. St. Francis enters play ranked 4th in the league, scoring 71.8 points per game.
• The Titans allow an average of 59.7 points per game on defense, good for 3rd-best in the CCAC. St. Francis ranks 2nd in the league, with 59.5 points allowed per game.
• With the win over Trinity International on Feb. 12, IUSB head coach
Steve Bruce reached 250 career wins at the helm of the Titans. With a career record of 254-213, Bruce is the winningest active head coach in the CCAC.
• The Titans have made five appearances all-time in the NAIA Tournament, and are searching for their first NAIA postseason berth since 2005.
• The Titans will qualify for the NAIA Tournament if either No. 1 Saint Xavier, No. 2 St. Francis, or No. 3 IU South Bend win the CCAC Tournament.
Series History
• St. Francis leads the series 27-13 over IU South Bend since the 2002-03 season.
• The Saints have won 11 in a row over IUSB, and five straight inside the Sullivan Center
• The last win for the Titans over St. francis came on Dec. 13, 2014 (67-60).
Emily Strilich led the Titans with a game-high 23 points.
• IU South Bend won the last matchup with USF in the CCAC Tournament, in the quarterfinal round on Feb. 28, 2012 (68-46).
Playoff Picture
• With the win over St. Ambrose on Saturday, IU South Bend secured the No. 3 seed for the CCAC Tournament.
• The top two seeds earn two of the CCAC's three automatic bids into the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. The third automatic bid goes to the CCAC Tournament champion.
• If the tournament winner has already earned an auto bid, then the No. 3 seed claims the final spot and will represent the CCAC at the NAIA Tournament.
About St. Francis
• The Saints enter the tournament with a 24-6 record and 20-2 mark in league play. USF brings an 11-game win streak into Thursday night's matchup, and have not lost to an unranked opponent since Dec. 20.
• Jordan Pyle leads the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game (2nd in CCAC), and is the league's third-best three-point shooter, posting a percentage of 39.4% from beyond the arc.
• Andriana Acosta is the team and conference's rebounding leader, averaging 11.5 rebounds per game.
• Head coach John McGinty is in his first season at St. Francis, following a stint as assistant coach at NCAA Division I Loyola (Ill.).
• The Saints have two CCAC Tournament titles in program history, most recently coming in 2020.
Last Time Out
• The Titans' tournament debut got off to a tough start, but IU South Bend would rally back from a double-digit deficit, defeating IU Northwest 72-63 in the CCAC Tournament quarterfinal at the
Student Activities Center on Tuesday night.
• Trailing by as much as 11 points midway through the second half, the Titans out-scored their opponents 48-31 in the second half to take the victory.
Maddy Schumacher and
Katie Gard led IUSB with 16 points apiece, while
Sara Doi tallied 11 in the win.
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Maddie Gard's two scores to start the fourth quarter put IUSB in front, and a three from
Courtney Haynes made it a 54-50 Titan lead with 7:50 to play. The visitors made one more push, going on a 7-2 run to take a 59-58 advantage, but a pivotal three from Rachel Robards started a run of ten straight for the Titans to secure the win.
IUSB in the Polls
• The Titans were unranked in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, released on Wednesday.
• IUSB last appeared in the NAIA's Top 25 on Jan. 15, 2020, when the Titans were ranked 20th in Division II.
• The Titans were picked fourth in the CCAC preseason poll on Oct. 25. St. Francis was picked third in the preseason ranking.
• Home of IUSB basketball and volleyball, the
Student Activities Center is celebrating its 20th season as the Titans' home court.
• In 2019-20, IU South Bend recorded a all-time high of 13 wins in the
Student Activities Center, going 13-4 at home.
• On Tuesday, the Titans matched the record, winning their 13th game at the SAC in the CCAC Tournament opener against IU Northwest
• This season, the Titans are 13-3 in the SAC.
Player Notes
• Junior guard
Maddie Gard leads the Titans with 16.0 points per game, and has led the team in scoring in 12 of 31 games this season.
• Gard scored a season-high 31 points in the win over Lourdes (Ohio) on Oct. 27, the highest point total for the Titans this season, and two points shy of her career high of 33.
• Gard recorded one of her two double-doubles on the year in the matchup with St. Francis, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds against the Saints on Nov. 3.
• Gard ranks 3rd in the CCAC, with 69 steals on the season.
• On offense, Gard is 4th in the league in scoring (16.0 ppg), and 11th in field goal percentage (47.2%).
• Junior guard
Katie Gard is averaging a career-best 14.7 points per game.
• Gard scored a career-high, leading the Titans with 24 points in the win over Lincoln on Dec. 16.
• Against Trinity International on Feb. 12, Gard registered her first career double-double, with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Gard ranks 6th in the CCAC, with 160 made field goals this season, and 10th in the CCAC in free throw shooting (75.6%).
• Gard is also among the league's top ten in scoring, ranking 9th in points per game.
• Senior guard
Sara Doi is averaging double figures for the first time in her career, with 11.0 points per game.
• Doi spent her first two seasons at Huntington (Ind.) before coming to IUSB for the 2020-21 season.
• As a Forester, Doi collected 247 points, 129 rebounds, and 72 assists in 57 games through 2018-20.
• In the win over Bethel (Ind.) on Dec. 8, Doi collected a career-high 24 points, knocking down six three-pointers in the win.
• Doi ranks 4th in the CCAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.0), and 5th in three-point shooting (38.1%).
• Senior forward
Rachael Robards is averaging 8.7 points per game.
• Robards set a career high with 28 points, going 7-for-11 from three-point range in the Titans' win at Midway (Ky.) on Nov. 6.
• Robards has hit five or more three-pointers in four games this year, all in wins for IUSB; seven at Midway (Ky.), and five each over Oakland City (Ind.) (12/9), Lincoln (12/16), and at Judson (1/3).
• Robards ranks 8th in the CCAC in three-point shooting percentage (33.1%), and 8th in the league with 59 three-pointers made.
• Junior forward
Maddy Schumacher has appeared in 30 of 31 games this season, and is averaging 6.6 points per game.
• Schumacher has one start on the year, making her debut in the starting five this season in the Titans' win at Judson on Jan. 3.
• Schumacher scored a career-high 20 points in a win over Huntington (Ind.) in her freshman season of 2019-20. The Titans won that game 80-71, with current IUSB guard
Sara Doi scoring nine points off the bench for Huntington.
• Junior guard
Emma Fisher has started 30 of 31 games this year for the Titans, and is averaging 6.5 points per game.
• Fisher is the team's leading rebounder, with 5.8 rebounds per game.
• Fisher ranks 8th in the CCAC in total assists (100).
• Fisher earned her first career double-double in the win over Bethel (Ind.) on Dec. 8, with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
• Fisher set a new career high on Jan. 28, with 18 points against No. 20 Saint Xavier.
• Senior center
Courtney Haynes has played in all 31 games for IUSB this year, making 25 starts and averaging 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, second-most on the team.
• Haynes pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in the loss at Saint Xavier on Nov. 17, the most in a single game this season for IUSB.
• Haynes finished career-high 23 points in the win over Olivet Nazarene on Feb. 3,
• Senior guard
Taitlyn Trenshaw has 22 appearances this season, after starting for the IUSB women's volleyball team this fall.
• Trenshaw has averaged 3.1 points per game since making her season debut during the win over Governors State on Nov. 23.
• Trenshaw finished with a season-high nine points in the Titans' win at Judson on Jan. 3, going 3-for-4 from the floor and pulling down six rebounds.
• Trenshaw averaged 1.8 digs per set for the Titans, who made an appearance in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round earlier this year.
• Freshman guard
Kylee Stepp has played in 20 games this year, averaging 2.9 points per game.
• Stepp scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in her collegiate debut, pulling down three rebounds in the win over IU Kokomo on Oct. 23.
• Stepp scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the win over Governors State on Nov. 23.
• Stepp pulled down six rebounds in the win at Calumet on Feb. 9, setting a new career best.
• Freshman guard
Amaya Rufus has played in 27 of 31 games this year, and is averaging 2.2 points per game.
• In the win over Concordia (Mich.) on Oct. 30, Rufus went 3-for-3 from the field, scoring a career-best 8 points. She matched her career high with three made field goals in the win at Lincoln on Jan. 22.
• Freshman guard
Sullivan Kessler has played in 21 games this year, averaging 1.4 points per game
• Sullivan had her best performance of her early career at Judson on Jan. 3, matching a career-high four points with three rebounds and three assists.
• Junior forward
Taylor Klenner has seen action in 17 games this year, making her season debut at St. Francis on Nov. 3.
• Klenner scored a career-high six points in the win over Trinity Christian on Jan. 31, along with a new career-best four rebounds.
• Freshman center
Bailey Stamper has four appearances this year, and played a season-long seven minutes in the win at Judson on Jan. 3., finishing with two assists, a blocked shot, steal, and rebound.
Up Next
• With a win, the Titans will advance to Saturday's CCAC Tournament Championship game.
• IUSB will travel to top-seeded Saint Xavier for the championship game, unless No. 5 seed Olivet Nazarene upset the Cougars.
• With an upset in the other semifinal game, the
Student Activities Center would host the championship game between IU South Bend and Olivet Nazarene.
• The opening round of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship is scheduled for Friday, March 11.
