USF Athletics
Joe Gorby, Sports Information Director
CHICAGO – The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) has selected Jordan Pyle (JR/Traralgon, Australia) of the nationally 12th-ranked University of St. Francis women’s basketball team as this week’s CCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week in a release issued this Tuesday by the CCAC office.
Pyle scored both a game and career-high 21 points in USF’s 66-52 non-conference road triumph versus St. Ambrose this past Saturday (Dec. 19) at SAU’s Lee Lohman Arena in Davenport, Iowa. Pyle also pulled down eight rebounds, which included three on the offensive glass, to go with a blocked shots and steal apiece in 30 minutes of action. The USF forward shot eight-of-11 from the floor (73%) and made both of her three-point field goal attempts while hitting on all three free throws in the victory over its CCAC-member school.
A transfer from NCAA Division I Eastern Illinois University, Pyle’s previous single-game scoring high was 17 points in last season’s (11/26) 70-47 conference home decision over Cardinal Stritch at USF’s Sullivan Center in Joliet, Ill.
This season, Pyle is scoring a team third-best tying 10.1 points per game (81 pts.) and a squad second-most 5.3 rebounds a contest (42 rebs.) to go with 18 assists, a team-high 11 blocked shots, and 15 steals as a starter in six of eight outings played in this 2020-21 season. Pyle, who has netted double-digit points in four games this campaign, is shooting 44.3 percent (31-70) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-21) from beyond the three-point arc, and has made 76.9 percent (10-13) of her free throw attempts.
A 2019-20 NAIA Scholar-Athlete and CCAC All-Academic Team selection, Pyle has currently registered a 7.5 points per game scoring average (557 pts.) and averaged 4.6 rebounds (338 rebs.) per contest in 74 USF appearances. A starter in 68 games, Pyle has accumulated 235 assists, 82 blocked shots, and 94 steals in her three-year (2018-present) Saints’ career.
The league weekly honor bestowed upon Pyle represents the third time this season a USF player has received such recognition. Pyle joins guard Leah Sims (SR/Chicago, Ill.) (Nov. 17) and guard-forward Justene Charlesworth (JR/Wanatah, Ind.)(Dec. 1) as CCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Award recipients.
The Saints, who are presently listed 12th in the latest (Dec. 16) NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, won their sixth consecutive game with the win at St. Ambrose and stand at 8-1 overall to date this season.
Next action for USF is Wednesday, Dec. 30, when the Saints will square off against the Olivet Nazarene Tigers in the Judson Christmas Classic in Elgin, Ill. A 3 p.m. (CT) opening tip is scheduled for the non-league matchup at JU’s Lindner Fitness Center.