CHICAGO --- A 51-point second half keyed by all-tournament selection Michelle Karr (Providence Catholic H.S./Tinley Park, IL) and freshman guard Cydney Weisflog (Oak Creek H.S./Oak Creek, WI) led University of St. Francis to the consolation championship of the Saint Xavier University Holiday Tournament after knocking off Indiana counterpart, University of Saint Francis, 78-68, Thursday afternoon at the Shannon Center.
Karr and Weisflog both netted a season-high 19 points with Karr also grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds. Together, they helped the Saints shoot a red-hot 70 percent from the field (14-of-20) and 90.5 percent from the foul line (19-of-21) in the decisive half.
Karr produced 14 of her points after the break on 4-of-5 shooting both from the field and the foul line, while Weisflog authored 12 in the closing half on 7-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe and a 2-for-4 mark from the floor.
Of the six Saints who attempted field goals in the second half, none shot less than 50 percent.
Such wasn't the case in the first half, where St. Francis shot just 39.3 percent from the field (11-of-28) and attempted only three free throws in producing just 27 points. The Saints, however, were able to limit Saint Francis (Ind.) to just 36.4 percent shooting (12-of-33) to trail by only four points, 31-27, at the break.
Saint Francis (Ind.) (9-6) had opportunities to extend the lead to double figures in both halves, but was averted each time. The Saints then wiped out any further chances with an 11-point swing midway through the second half turning a 40-35 deficit into a 46-40 lead with 12:34 to play.
USF (11-6) would never relinquish the lead the rest of the way, although Saint Francis (Ind.) would pull to within one point, 52-51, with 8:25 remaining. Another 9-0 run followed by an 8-0 burst when the Cougars got to within 65-60 with 4:25 remaining closed out the victory.
Karr and Weisflog weren't the only Saints to score in double figures. They were joined by senior guard Brandi Pudik (Kankakee C.C./Washington, IL) (12 points), junior forward Ashley Teresiak (Moraine Valley C.C./Orland Park, IL) (11 points) and senior center Jen Andes (Hall H.S./Princeton, IL) (10 points). Pudik and Teresiak also dished out six assists each with the latter also collecting seven rebounds.
Karr averaged a double-double over the three games with her 12.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest to earn the post-tournament recognition.
The Saints finished out the six-game road trip going 2-4 after dropping their first four games of the swing. They open up Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Jan. 7 hosting NAIA I No. 21-ranked Robert Morris University at 1 p.m.
