Cougars defeat Tigers; McClain too much to handle
Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Olivet Nazarene - 70
Saint Xavier (Ill.) - 79
Box Score
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - Fueled by four double-digit scorers, Saint Xavier overpowered Olivet in a Tuesday matchup at McHie Arena.
Brooke Peterson (Arlington Heights, Ill.) led the Tigers (16-12, 4-5) with 21 points, while Poppy Miller (New Haven, Ind.) chipped in 18, each registering a double-double on the evening with 15 and 12 boards respectively. But it was not enough, as the Cougars (22-4, 8-1) countered with offensive firepower of their own. Good ball handling, combined with their sharp shooting, spelled doom for the Tigers.
Kathlyn McClain dominated the Tiger defense as she put up a total of 30 points on 12-25 shooting from the floor, while teammate Erin Hannemann registered a double-double of her own (14 points, 14 rebounds). McClain also recorded 8 steals on the evening.
After breaking the opening tie, Saint Xavier took control of the first half. They never gave up the lead, leading by as many as 17 points with 3:16 left to go. Sloopy play plagued the Tigers once again as they turned the ball over 14 times before the halftime buzzer sounded.
Down 29-31 at the break, the Tigers went on a tear coming out of the gates, quickly tying the game at 41 by scoring 12 points in just 2:35. That was as close as ONU would get as the Cougars went on a 17-7 scoring run triggered by an Angie Bush jumper.
ONU shot well on the night, going 22-55 (.400), but charity points were slim as they only connected on 19-32 (.594).
Both Carly Craven (Frankfort, Ill.) and Holly Wiersema (Rockford, Ill.) chipped in 10 points apiece, while Jade Stanlick (Edwardsville, Ill.) added six assists to her current season total 169.
With the loss, the Tigers fall to 16-12 on the season and 5-4 in CCAC action. ONU looks to complete their regular season this Saturday with a conference match-up versus the Saints from the University of Saint Francis (Ill.). In the two squads' last meeting, the Saints squeaked out a narrow 100-98 victory on a buzzer beating lay-up by Anna Sears.
Amanda Jensen
Women's Sports Information Director
