CHICAGO - University of St. Francis rallied from an 11-point deficit to tie the game in the final minute of play but No. 3-ranked Saint Xavier University made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 52 seconds to claim an 83-78 victory and snap USF's 10-game winning streak.

USF played from behind for most of the game but trailed by just a single point at 56-55 when the Cougars (23-1, 6-1) started a 10-2 run that put them ahead by 9 points at 66-57 with 9:32 left in the game. That run got started when USF senior guard Anna Sears (Providence Catholic H.S./Mokena, IL) had a go-ahead basket wiped out when she was called for a charging foul. 

SXU pushed the margin to 11 points at 72-61 before the Saints (15-11, 6-1) made their final run. USF ran off a 13-2 spurt over the next 4:14 to forge a tie at 74-74 with 1:50 left. Saint Xavier did not make a field goal in the game's final 3:46 (and had just one in the last 7:32) but the Cougars cashed in from the free throw line making nine of 10 tosses over the last 1:28 to hold off the Saints.

USF's final attempt to force overtime was thwarted when senior forward Kaci Baird's (Bartlett H.S./Bartlett, IL) 3-point jumper rimmed out of the basket with five seconds left and the Cougars up 81-78.

Senior forward Kellie Fazio (Leyden H.S./Rosemont, IL) led all scorers in the game with 20 points, including 4-of-6 baskets from 3-point range. Baird and Sears each added 16 for USF. Sears also led the Saints with a half-dozen rebounds.

The loss was the first for the Saints in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. It drops USF into a first-place tie with Saint Xavier at 6-1. USF handed the Cougars their only loss of the season on Jan. 12 at the Recreation Center in Joliet. The loss alos prevented USF from matching a school record with 11 straight victories.

The Saints are off for a week before entertaining Olivet Nazarene on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 5:15 p.m. in the front half of a women's and men's doubleheader at the Recreation Center.