CHICAGO, Ill.. – The Madonna University women's basketball team faltered early in the first quarter and late in the fourth quarter as they lost to NAIA No. 21 Saint Xavier University 103-80 on Friday afternoon at the Shannon Center. The Crusaders fall to 0-14 on the season and 0-7 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play while the Cougars improve to 11-3 on the season and 7-0 in their respective conference action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue and Gold started strong, jumping out to an early 8-5 lead thanks to a mid-range jumper by Hannah Reinhold and a three-pointer by Cierra von Zittwitz. The lead did not last long, as the Cougars outscored the Crusaders 23-5 throughout the remainder of the quarter.

• The Crusaders outscored the Cougars in the second quarter with big performances from von Zittwitz who hit two three pointers, followed by Claire LeRoux and Ashleigh Ringstad who followed with three-pointers of their own.

• Trailing 41-55 after the break, Madonna cut the lead to 10 points off a 15-0 run that spanned over two minutes. LeRoux and von Zittwitz each knocked down another three-pointer, Sheldon Bochenek dropped in two layups and a free throw, and Reinhold added three points of her own.

• The Blue and Gold were not able to continue the momentum into the fourth quarter, being outscored 14-24 to finalize the score at 103-80.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Von Zittwitz posted 19 points and Reinhold added 18 to pace the Crusaders offense, adding a combined 10 blocks in the contest as well.

• Bochenek was the third MU player to post double digit points with 13 and four rebounds to go along with two blocks.

• The Crusaders shot 50.8 percent (30-59) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-19) from beyond the arc, and 78.6 percent (11-14) from the free throw line. The Cougars shot 50 percent (39-78) from the field goal range, 37.9 percent (11-29) from three-point range, and 82.4 percent (14-17) from the line.

• Eight different Crusaders tallied points in the loss, while Sydney Brown led the stat sheet in assists with seven.

UP NEXT

• The Blue and Gold will continue their post-holiday road trip as they face off against Robert Morris University (Ill.) on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. EST.

• Live coverage links are available at www.mucrusaders.com/live.