Another heartbreaking end for SXU

Another SXU Women's Basketball team with a shot at a national championship, another heartbreaking loss to a team not as good in the most important game of the year. 

The SXU Cougars women's basketball team completed their memorable 2009-2010 campaign with a tough loss, a 73-69 loss to seventh ranked and second seeded Azusa Pacific. Widely picked as either the favorite or co-favorite to win this year's national championship, this loss stings more than any in the program's 10-year history. Only the 2007 second round loss to Lambuth could even compare. 

The Cougars have been a solid program since they began play in 2000 thanks to the expert coaching and recruiting by Bob Hallberg and his staff. The team has won either the CCAC regular season or tournament championship in nine of the ten seasons. They have beaten the number one team in the country twice, qualified for the nationals eight years in a row and produced numerous All-Americans.

But not until this year did the Cougars reach the Elite Eight. Out of all of the great Cougar teams in the past decade, this year's squad was the best. The personnel, as well as the record, proved that. SXU had an impressive 27-1 regular season mark and finished the season with a 31-2 overall record. No other Cougar team had an experienced trio of Erin Hannemann, Kathlyn McClain and Alex Barone coupled with a tough Sholanda Young and an emerging Marissa Young. 

This team could have gone all the way. No doubt they had the talent to. But for the fourth year in a row, SXU was eliminated by a team seeded lower than them. They didn't play horrible against Azusa, only losing by four points. But at the NAIA Tournament level, you have to playt your best every game. They didn't have their best game Saturday night and that is what did them in. 

Because of the graduation of Hannemann and McClain, 2010 will always be a "what could have been" year. But I am fully confident SXU will contend for a national title in the near future. I wouldn't even count them out next year. 

Barone returns as the team's glue at point guard. Marquita Smith improved all year and was outstanding in Jackson last week. As long as the Cougars have a good rebuilding class, as they always do, they will be fine. They will win the CCAC easily again. But the only thing left for them to accomplish is a national championship or at least a title game appearance. 

Hallberg believes his team will be back too. "We are not interested in rebuilding, we are interested in reloading," he told the WXAV radio crew following Saturday's loss.

The Cougars will reload and they will still be a fun crew to watch despite the losses of Hannemann and McClain. 

The loss of Hannemann will be extremely tough to combat. She is one of the three best players in SXU history and arguably better than SXU Hall of Famer Mary Cain and soon to be hall of famer Candis Jackson, who I would rank as the two best prior to Hannemann. 

Despite the frustrating end, SXU had a banner year. 31-2 is an incredible mark put forth by an incredible team. 

Saint Xavier sweeps the CCAC

CHICAGO - I've either seen or heard some of the greatest moments in Saint Xavier sports history over the last seven years. As many big wins as the school has had in that span, never had both the men's and women's basketball teams won the CCAC Tournament in the same year. In fact, the men haven't won it at all in the last seven years. 

But that all changed Saturday, March 6 when both Cougar teams received automatic bids to the NAIA National Tournament. 

The Saint Xavier women's team and Olivet Nazarene hooked up at the Shannon Center early in the day for what seems like a yearly CCAC title game match-up. 

One thing that is certain before every SXU-Olivet game is that it will be fast-paced and high scoring. That is all Olivet knows, and time and time again, SXU proves that they know it too. 

The Lady Tigers play a fast-paced game, running down the court and seemingly taking a three-point attempt every time they have the ball. They waste little time in their possessions whether it works or not. Every minute or so, coach Doug Porter will substitute five new players into the lineup. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it's fun to watch every time. 

Seeing the way the Tigers play more than 10 times in the last four years, SXU seniors Angie Bush and Erin Hannemann seemed to have a plan of attack. Angie would keep up with them from the perimeter in the first half, and Erin would beat them up down low in the second half. 

The result was a career-high 33 points for Bush in her final game at the Shannon Center. 22 of the 33 came in the first half, leading the Cougars to a 53-46 lead at the break. 

Olivet opened the second half on a 10-0 run to take a lead and upped the margin to six with 15:57 to play. But Erin Hannemann took over the rest of the way. The Cougars captured a 103-96 win over their rivals from Bourbonnais.

Hannemann netted 26 points and brought down 12 rebounds in the final game of a fantastic career. Her bucket with 2:40 to go gave the team an eight point lead and all but ended it for the Tigers. 

Hannemann was named the CCAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season following the game. Sholanda Young had a record setting day for the team, dishing out a program all-time best 13 assists. 

ONU did well from beyond the arc, which kept them in the game. But SXU was just too good. 

It seems like we say this every year, but this really is the best SXU team ever. At 29-1, the Cougars could very well have been undefeated if it weren't for an injury to Kathlyn McClain in January. 

Ranked second in the country (should be first), the Cougars are a legitimate national title contender. In fact, anything less would be a disappointment. They have never won more than one game in Jackson, but this year will be their best chance to do something special.

Often overshadowed by the women's team, the SXU men's basketball team punched their ticket to the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City with a 92-90 overtime upset win over Robert Morris University at the Gentile Center. It had been the first time since RMU's move to the CCAC that the Cougars won there. 

It was a must win for SXU, who would not have made the tourney without the automatic bid. Senior Julian Scott has had an up and down career for the Cougars, but made sure it would not end Saturday, scoring eight of his team-leading 18 points in the overtime period. 

Roosevelt Green hit a last-second shot for SXU in their semifinal upset win over Olivet Nazarene. It's good to see this group come together at the right time. 

Good luck to both Cougar teams at the national tournament. 

Photo: SXU forward Erin Hannemann starred for the Cougars in their 103-96 win over the Olivet Nazarene Tigers Saturday to capture the CCAC Championship. 

SXU wins with Barone out

CHICAGO - The Saint Xavier women's basketball team beat Indiana-South Bend 69-53 Saturday at the Shannon Center. With the win the NAIA's third ranked Cougars put themselves in second place in the CCAC. 

SXU had a relatively tough stretch before the win as they lost to conference rival St. Francis the week before in Joliet. But the Cougars responded with a big win over a good Titan team.

The most impressive aspect of the win was that they did it without point guard Alex Barone, who missed the game due to an illness. The team is clearly not as sharp without her in there. They seem to be less organized, but the defense carried them through Saturday.

Erin Hannemann had another big game, shooting 9-for-11 for 24 points. It didn't seem like she had that kind of a game, but you come to expect these types of performances from her. She quietly gets the job done each night. 

Sholanda Young has improved greatly over the last two years. She may be the hardest worker on this team. With Barone out, Marissa Young did a nice job finding open shooters. 

SXU is 20-1 and still ranked third in the NAIA. This very well might be the best Cougar team Head Coach Bob Hallberg has ever had. It seems like we say that every year, but it's true. 

I do not see SXU losing until Jackson, Tennessee. But nothing matters until then. The Cougars have to put together there best games that week in Mid-March. If they do that, they may not lose a game the rest of the way. 

SXU women three?

In the latest NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Poll, the Saint Xavier University Cougars are ranked third overall, matching the highest ranking they have ever attained in school history.

At first, this seems like a positive for diehard SXU fans like myself. But in all reality, they should be number one. Not only should they be the top ranked team in the nation, it should be unanimous.

Ranked number one for the 27th consecutive week is the Union Bulldogs, who play in the mecca of NAIA Women's Basketball - Jackson, TN. This is the same team that SXU beat this year, in Jackson, by three points. SXU is currently perfect in regular season play (10-0), while Union boasts a 10-1 record, with the lone loss coming to Saint Xavier.

So how does a 1-loss team that lost a head-to-head matchup with an undefeated team at home get ranked ahead of them? The NAIA is not even trying to cover up their bias this time. They favor the teams that have been there before. Union has three national titles and is the winningest team of the decade. But why should that matter in a weekly award? SXU clearly has been the most impressive team in the country to this point.

It's not like the Cougars had an easy schedule either. In addition to beating Union, Coach Hallberg's bunch has beaten Lambuth and McKendree, both of whom are ranked in the Top 25. The Cougars also played tough in exhibition losses to NCAA Division I Loyola-Chicago and UIC.

SXU and Point Loma Nazarene are the only two unbeaten teams in the top ten and the Cougars have had the tougher schedule.

What will it take for the NAIA to recognize that SXU is going to be a force this year? This could very weel be the best team in program history. They return four starters and have added a talented transfer.

Being ranked third at this point really does not matter. It's all about Tennessee in March. The Cougars will cruise through the CCAC, but this year they are looking to prove themselves as an elite team at the national level.