Deerfield, IL - The TIU Lady Trojans win a hard fought game against the Fighting Saints of St. Francis 69-68.  Box Score

TIU dominated in the first half leading by as much as 18 points scoring well in transition in a half riddled with fouls. But St. Francis began to fight back closing the gap to within 7 points at the buzzer. TIU went into the 2nd half leading 39-32. St. Francis forced several turnovers by TIU and began to climb back into the game and ultimately grabbed the lead until the final minute of the game. Missed free throw shots were the nemesis of St. Francis and a 3 point score by Abby Hemmeger with 1:18 to go put the Lady Trojans in the lead for the final time. 2 clutch free throws by Diamond Richardson at the 53 second mark were the difference in a closely contested game. 

Brittany Simon led all scorers with 17. Diamond Richardson led the teams with 9 rebounds and 13 points - 4 for 4 at the free throw line. . DeAndra Wright chipped in 10 points and 4 steals. Bri'Anna Rowland had 6 points, all at the free throw line. The difference in the game will not be noted in the stats. Jontea Byrd, Asja Tripplett, and Clarissa Woodard played tough, gritty defense tonight against the Fighting Saints, keeping the ball away from their scorers in the paint. TIU's guards hassled and harassed anyone with the ball to force turnovers and cause confusion. This was a team effort to gain a hard fought, scrappy win. 

The Lady Trojans will play at home on February 9th against St. Xavier, game time 5:30. Lady Trojan fans can watch live at: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/tiu.portal#.