Grand Rapids, Mich. -- If you want to be ready for the grind of WHAC basketball, you might as well get a taste of it in November. A young, talented Aquinas team got one Tuesday against a St. Xavier squad that made every catch, cut and rebound a little tougher. That's the kind of basketball the Saints will see when conference play rolls around and the paint starts to feel like rush hour. Games like this can help the Maroon and White trust the system, trust each other and find a few more ways to score.
St. Xavier 67, Aquinas 51
St. Xavier opened a 20–7 lead in the first quarter, but the Saints had an answer before the horn. Alexis Raska came off the bench and buried a three, Rhema Dozier followed with one of her own, and Hope Kanouse finished inside to make it 20–15 after one. Kanouse went right back to the rim nine seconds into the second quarter, capping a 10–0 Aquinas run and bringing the Saints within three.
The Maroon and White kept themselves in it on the defensive end, holding the Cougars to nine points in the second quarter. Raska supplied a block, while Kanouse and MJ Mikus each came up with two steals in the period. When St. Xavier pushed the lead back to 10, Michaela Moore knocked down a jumper and Mikus finished through contact for a three-point play. That quick five-point burst got Aquinas within 27–22 before the Cougars took a 29–22 lead into halftime.
Elizabeth Schafer got the Saints going in the third with a layup, then set up Sophie Klinger for a three. Dozier followed with a free throw to make it 35–28, but St. Xavier scored the next eight points to stretch the margin to 15. Raska and Kanyla Tyler each sank a pair at the line to stop the run. Leah French extended an Aquinas possession with an offensive rebound, and Kanouse turned a late offensive board into a putback as the Saints went to the fourth down 48–36.
Klinger found Clemmie Gadwood for a layup 10 seconds into the final quarter to bring Aquinas within 10. The Cougars answered with seven straight points and eventually stretched the lead to 19. Kanouse kept working the glass, grabbing an offensive rebound and finding Raska for a three before following her own miss for two on a later trip. Raska added a layup to pull Aquinas within 63–49 with 3:32 left, and Kanouse scored the final Saints basket in the closing minute.
Klinger led Aquinas with 12 points and four assists, while Kanouse finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Raska added 10 points on four shots, and Dozier paired six rebounds with three steals. The Saints shot 10-of-11 at the line, but St. Xavier turned 21 Aquinas turnovers into 25 points.
Aquinas fell to 0–2, while St. Xavier improved to 3–0.
Saints Snapshots
- From 13 down to a one-possession game. The first quarter could have gotten away from Aquinas at 20–7. Two quick threes changed the feel of the game, and Kanouse carried that momentum across the quarter break by going straight back inside.
- Mikus made the second quarter a fight. Two steals helped keep the Cougars from running away with it, and her and-one gave Aquinas a lift just when the Saints needed a trip that ended with points.
- Raska gave the offense another gear. She hit from deep in both halves, got to the line and finished at the rim. Her fourth-quarter three also showed what can happen when Kanouse keeps a possession alive and the Saints are ready for the kickout.
- Kanouse kept asking for one more possession. She scored six of her 10 points after halftime, including two putbacks. That kind of work on the glass will matter on WHAC nights when neither team is getting much clean on the first shot.
- The stops were there. Now make them count. Aquinas held St. Xavier to 5-of-32 from three and came up with 11 steals. Turning more of those stops into clean trips at the other end is one way for this group to find the extra scoring it needs.
Coach's Comments
There were stretches Tuesday when the Saints defended well enough to make a run. For head coach Brian Morris, the next step is making those stops pay off at the other end.
"We put this kind of game on the schedule because it asks a lot of us, and that's what we're going to see in the WHAC," Morris said. "I liked how we responded when we got down early, and I thought there were stretches where we defended really well. Now we've got to take better care of the ball, trust the next pass and finish more of those possessions. The score tells us where we finished tonight. The film will show us where we can get better before Saturday."
Up Next
The Saints will get back to work before returning to Coach Bo Court on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. Aquinas will look for its first win of the season when it hosts the Rio Grande RedStorm. Catch the game on the AQSaints Watch Live network with Joey Sutherlin on the call.
Visit AQSaints.com for complete coverage of Aquinas women's basketball and all other Saints sports.
It's a great day to be a Saint.
