Titans Hand No. 16 St. Francis Its First Loss
SOUTH BEND – IU South Bend delivered in front of its home crowd on Saturday afternoon, handing St. Francis its first loss of the year in a 69-62 victory at the Student Activities Center. The Titans controlled the game from the opening tip and slammed the door late, improving to 11-5 overall and 6-2 in CCAC play with its first ranked win this season.
The Saints entered at 16-0, but the Titans set the tone immediately with a 20-8 first quarter, riding a combination of perimeter shooting, physical defense, and timely ball movement that St. Francis struggled to match all afternoon.
IU South Bend blitzed the Saints early, knocking down three triples in the first five minutes while forcing four turnovers in the opening quarter. Aubrie Booker opened the scoring with a three, Keylee Hudson added another moments later, and the Titans held St. Francis scoreless for over three minutes during a 12-2 run. The 20-8 edge after one proved crucial in controlling the game’s pace.
Five Titans reached double figures, highlighting the team’s well-rounded offensive outing. Aubrie Booker logged 17 points, including three triples and Bradie Chambers was not far behind with a double-double showing at 15 points and 12 rebounds. The guard also added three blocks to her winning effort.
The IUSB lead hovered around double digits throughout the second frame and into the third but St. Francis made its move before heading to the final stanza. After being down by as much as 14, the Saints utilized a 9-0 run in the waning minutes of the third to pull within two.
In the final quarter, USF hung around but the Titans always had an answer. Despite the Saints being within one possession four times in the last 10 minutes, IU South Bend never gave up its lead. IUSB sealed the win with a 7-0 run to return the lead to 10 points with less than a minute on the clock.
Tenleigh Phelps joined Chambers in the double-double club, going for 15 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday. 14 points came in from Keylee Hudson, who did her work from beyond the arc with three long balls. Kenzie Fulks rounded out the starting five, orchestrating the offense with seven assists and six points.
The Titans defense got the job done against the Saints, holding the visitors to 33.3 percent shooting, while converting at a 41.5 percent clip from the floor themselves.
IU South Bend will look to build off the impressive win, hitting the road to face Judson on Wednesday at 6:30 pm.