[Women's Basketball] Bees outlast Saints in CCAC Tourney opening round

St. Ambrose took advantage of a sometimes overly-physical Holy Cross team by connecting on 25-of-33 free throws in outlasting the Saints 56-52 in a first round game of the CCAC Tournament Tuesday night.

The Bees will advance to a quarterfinal contest at Olivet Nazarene Thursday.

Sixteen of those free throws came in the second half, with nine coming in the final quarter. They helped SAU overcome a six-minute lull bridging the second and third quarters that saw Holy Cross (7-14) score 11 straight points to grab a 32-26 lead early in the second half.

But a free throw from Kylie Wroblewski sparked a 9-0 Bee run. She added two three-point plays and Jamie Martens had a layup to put St. Ambrose back in front 35-32. 

The Bee defense overwhelmed the Saints in the final period. With the game tied at 39-39 entering the quarter, SAU held HCC scoreless for the first four minutes of the frame. Mel Stewart had the final six points of an 8-0 run that put St. Ambrose ahead 47-39. 

Holy Cross closed to within a point at 50-49 with just over a minute left, but Martens and Stewart combined for six straight free throws to seal the win.

The Bees hit 16 of their first 17 free throws before cooling from the line in the opening stages of the fourth quarter. 

A 25-8 scoring advantage from the line coupled with a defensive performance that limited the Saints to less than 30 percent shooting from the floor were enough to overcome a 30.6 percent shooting effort and send the Bees to the CCAC quarterfinals.

Wroblewski came off the bench to lead the team with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She scored nine of her points in the third quarter.

Martens finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Stewart scored 10 points.

Sarah Goldensoph added eight points. nine boards and three steals while Madeline Prestegaard grabbed eight boards and blocked three shots. Anna Plumer netted six points.

The sixth-seeded Bees (12-7) will visit third-seeded Olivet Nazarene Thursday with the winner advancing to Saturday's semifinals. The Tigers defeated the Bees 94-89 in the regular season on Feb. 10.