Inconsistency for women's basketball

The past week was a tale of two stories for the Xavier women's basketball team.

On Wednesday night, the Musketeers knocked off the University of Richmond 76-60 at home in front of a "Pink Out" crowd.

On Saturday, Xavier lost 66-48 on the road to the 22nd-ranked team in the nation, St. Bonaventure University.

The loss on Saturday drops the Musketeers record to 7-18 on the season and 4-8 in Atlantic 10 conference play.

The Musketeers used a strong first half against Richmond to claim their largest victory of the season.

Senior guard Tyeasha Moss led all scorers with 26 points and dished out four assists.

Xavier was clicking on all cylinders, shooting a season-high 63 percent from the field for the game, including an incredible 68 percent clip in the second half.

The Musketeers jumped on the Spiders midway through the first half when they went on a 25-9 run to take a 14-point lead.

Freshman forward Lakeisha Crouch notched her second straight double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds) while sophomore guard Shatyra Hawkes contributed a career-high eight assists.

"From start to finish tonight, we came ready to play," said head coach Amy Waugh. "For 40 minutes, we competed with the level of intensity and heart that we haven't had consistently all year long."

Waugh was also pleased with the overall team defense that forced 12 turnovers and lead to 24 points off turnovers for the Musketeers.

Xavier traveled to Olean, N.Y. on Saturday to face the Bonnies but was unable to return home with a victory.

The Musketeers struggled out of the gate, falling behind St. Bonaventure early.

Xavier never took the lead and trailed by 15 points at the half. Xavier came no closer than 13 points in the second half, trailing by as many as 25 points.

Crouch was unable to secure her third consecutive double-double but did corral a career-high 14 rebounds.

Moss and senior forward

Photo courtesy of Greg Rust

Junior Katie Pleiman posted a first singles victory against Duquesne.Sabrina Johnson both chipped in 10 points for the game.

The Musketeers took care of the ball, only turning it over eight times for the game but struggled to put the ball in the net. Xavier shot 32 percent from the field and only 29 percent from three.

The Musketeers face the University of Dayton on Wednesday. Xavier will be searching for a victory over the rival Flyers when they tip off at 7 p.m. at UD Arena.