The St. Francis Spartans had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They came out on top against Saint Viator by a score of 50-43. Given St. Francis' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Saint Viator is ranked 401st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
St. Francis' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Riley Austin led the charge by scoring 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Another player making a difference was Lynsey Cleveland, who scored five points along with 12 rebounds and four steals.
When it comes to explaining why Saint Viator lost, one person who can't be blamed is Mia Bergstrom. Despite the final result, she scored 22 points along with five rebounds and two blocks. That was a full 51.2% of Saint Viator's points, marking the fifth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
St. Francis' win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-8. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Saint Viator, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost eight of their last nine matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-14 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. St. Francis will take on Rosary at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Saint Viator won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Marist at 7:00 p.m. on January 10th. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Marist and six for Saint Viator.
