JOLIET, Ill.- The Indiana University South Bend Titans (17-1, 11-1 CCAC) defeated the University of Saint Francis Saints (15-5, 10-3 CCAC) by a score of 71-43. Wednesday's victory improves the Titans lead in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference to a full game ahead of second place Indiana University Northwest and a game and a half in front of Saint Xavier and Saint Francis.
Saint Francis jumped out to an early lead in the battle for first place, scoring the first seven points of the game before
Katie Gard went on a 6-0 scoring run of her own to bring the Titans within a point. After trading baskets throughout the first quarter, IU South Bend found themselves trailing 15-13 heading into the second quarter.
The Titans began to pull away towards the end of the first half, outscoring Saint Francis by 12 in the second quarter while only allowing nine Saints points all quarter. The second quarter was dominated by center
Tia Chambers who scored 12 of her 18 points while knocking down six of her seven attempts from the field.
The second half belonged to the Titans as they outscored Saint Francis 37-19 on their way to a 28 point victory to avenge their only loss of the season, a two point loss that came from Saint Francis on December, 7th.
IU South Bend was led by center
Tia Chambers, who finished with 18 points while tying her season high in shooting percentage at 81%. Chambers made all but two of the shots she attempted in the win over the Saints while also recording eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Other Titans to reach double figures in the lopsided victory were
Katie Gard, who finished with 15 points while knocking down eight of her ten attempts from the free throw line.
Maddie Gard finished with 14 points on 7-13 shooting from the field while also securing four rebounds and recording three steals. The last Titan to reach double figures was
Rachael Robards who finished with 10 points in her tenth game this season where she scored at least two three point field goals.
The Indiana University South Bend Titans return to action on Saturday, January 21, when they host Aquinas College (Mich.) at 1:00 PM in the Student Activities Center.