Xavier women's basketball struggles in Atlantic 10 conference play

The Xavier women's basketball team non-conference struggles have continued to plague them early in the Atlantic 10 season. The Musketeers dropped two more road games this week, which lowers their record to 3-13 and 0-3 in A-10 play.

Xavier traveled to Pittsburgh, Penn. on Jan. 11 to face Duquesne University, but lost to the Dukes 68-49. The Musketeers concluded their Pennsylvania road trip with a 63-51 defeat in Philadelphia against La Salle University. However, Xavier played Duquesne to a much closer game than the score indicated despite their losses. The Musketeers were trailing at halftime but used an 8-0 run to take the lead early in the second half. The game was back and forth until 10 minutes remained when the Dukes went on a 19-1 run to take control.

The Musketeers shot well from the field (45 percent for the game) but their demise again was turnovers. Xavier committed 27 turnovers in the game which led to 29 points off turnovers for Duquesne, compared to Xavier's eight points off turnovers. Junior forward Jessica Pachko secured another double-double, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with 12 points. Xavier's struggles continued on Saturday when the Musketeers outplayed La Salle in many facets of the game but came up short on the scoreboard. Xavier outrebounded La Salle 41-30, shot better from the field than the Explorers, and outscored La Salle 34-16 in the paint.

Xavier knotted things up at 44 with 10 minutes remaining in the game but was unable to take the lead. The Musketeers had no answer for the Explorers' Brittany Wilson, who poured in 28 points. Pachko nearly posted another double-double, along with senior forward Sabrina Johnson. Johnson finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds while Pachko notched a career high in scoring with 16 points in addition to her nine boards.

The Musketeers are still searching for their first road win on the season. Up next for Xavier is a home game against Saint Joseph's on Saturday at Cintas Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.