DEERFIELD, Ill. --- The TIU women's basketball team hosted it's final regular season home game and honored it's two senior players on Saturday afternoon as they welcomed the 20th-ranked Fighting Saints of St. Francis to Van Dixhorn Arena in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play. After falling to Saint Xavier on Wednesday nights, the Trojans looked to pull off the upset and push their record back to .500.
The Trojans battled tough against the high-powered Saints in the first period before USF took a double-digit lead early in the second quarter. St. Francis relied heavily on their three-point shooting game and offensive rebounding ability during the game, before Brittany Gafare found her shot inside for Trinity and cut into the Saint's deficit. Despite 13 first half turnovers, Gafare, along with Alina Jahnke's defense and Carly Schebo's ball movement, cut USF's lead to just nine, 30-21.
TIU's offense would slow in the second half, while St. Francis' flourished. Led by Jordan Pyle's 13 points, the Saints continued to dominate the glass and force Trojan turnovers off difficult ball handling. Trinity would struggle to find their shot from three-point range as USF held them to just six attempts on the day. St. Francis would lead by as many as 27 as the Trojans dropped their second consecutive game, 65-39.
Gafare would lead all TIU scorers with 12 points, plus eight rebounds in the final home game of her collegiate career. Taylor Hibicke scored ten points in the loss, while Jahnke was held to six points, six boards and five blocked shots in her Van Dixhorn Arena finale.
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ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES
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With today's loss, TIU falls to 3-12 all-time against St. Francis, including the last nine meetings.
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USF outrebounded Trinity 14-5 on offensive rebounds.Â
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The Trojans gave up a total of 23 points off of 24 turnovers.
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TIU falls to 0-3 after today's loss against NAIA ranked teams this season. Trinity lost to #19 Saint Xavier twice this season.
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Brittany Gafare's 12 point performance marks the third time she has led the Trojans in scoring in a game this season. Gafare led TIU with 13 points on Jan. 1 at Grace, and on Jan. 6 at Olivet Nazarene with a career-high 27.
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With her five blocks today, Alina Jahnke increased her season total to 79, surpassing her total from last season for the second most blocked shots in a single season in program history. She is one block shy of tying Jenni Hettinger for the most all-time in a season (80).
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UP NEXT
The Trojans (8-10) return to action on Wednesday night, February 17 as they visit the Holy Cross College Saints in Indiana for their CCAC finale. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm ET at McKenna Arena and can be followed LIVE on the Regional Radio Sports Network.
Visit TIUtrojans.com to stay up to date with the latest TIU women's basketball news and schedule updates.
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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.
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