Sports

Women’s basketball splits a pair of non-conference games

By: Donnie Menke ~Staff Writer~

Women'sBBallvsTennesseeTech_20151203-152
Newswire photo by Adam Spegele | Gaffney, whose father played for Minnesota, posts up against Tennessee Tech.

Xavier women’s basketball continued its strong start to the season by defeating Tennessee Tech at Cintas Center, with a score of 64-47.

The win improved Xavier’s record to 5-1 while the loss dropped Tennessee Tech to 2-4.

The first half was not very close, as Xavier led by one at the end of the first quarter and by 12 at the half.

Tennessee Tech started to make a comeback, cutting the lead to eight points at the end of the third quarter, but the fourth quarter belonged to Xavier, as the Musketeers outscored the Golden Eagles 18-9 to take the game by a score of 64-47.

Brianna Glover led the team in scoring with 21 points, also adding 10 rebounds to give Glover her second career double-double. Raeshaun Gaffney was second on the team in scoring with 13 points, while adding three rebounds. Leah Schaeffer also contributed eight points.

On Sunday, the team had a four-game winning streak snapped by Middle Tennessee when the Musketeers lost by a final score of 62-53. The loss dropped Xavier to 5-2, while the win improved Middle Tennessee to 4-3.

This game was fairly close in the first half, with Middle Tennessee ahead by three at the end of the first quarter and ahead by five at halftime.

Xavier made a run in the 3rd quarter, making it a one point game by the end of the period. In the fourth quarter, with Xavier ahead by one with a score of 48- 47, Middle Tennessee went on a 15-5 run to close out the quarter and the game with a nine point win, beating Xavier 62-53.

Aliyah Zantt led the team in scoring with 11 points and added an assist and a steal to go with it. Gaffney again was second on the team in scoring, this time with nine points and two rebounds. Kayla Davis finished with eight points, while Jenna Crittenden and Glover both finished with seven.

The women’s team has two home games this coming week.

First its takes on Radford University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Cintas Center. Next — the big one — they take on Cincinnati in the Crosstown Shootout at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Cintas Center.