St. Ambrose got the shot it wanted but Kylie Wroblewski's shot in the lane bounced off the rim in the final seconds as No. 10 Saint Xavier was able to survive 83-80 Wednesday night in Chicago.

Battling back from a 17-point first-half deficit, the Bees had the nationally-ranked Cougars on the ropes in the second half, taking a three-point lead inside the final four minutes.

Then, trailing 81-80 in the closing seconds, SAU found Wroblewski in the lane. The freshman, who finished with a game-high 25 points, spun away from Cougar defenders but her shot bounced off. Saint Xavier (15-3, 10-0 CCAC) tracked down the rebound and made two free throws with 0.9 seconds on the clock. After a timeout, another unlucky bounce cost the Bees a chance in overtime as Madi Epperson's potential game-tying three from the corner hit off the back rim as time expired.

The heartbreak spoiled a tremendous second half from St. Ambrose, particularly in the third quarter.

In the third, the Bees outscored the Saints 21-14 to cut an eight-point halftime deficit to 69-68 entering the fourth. SAU did it offensively (8-of-16 shooting, 2-of-3 3-pointers), defensively (limiting SXU to 4-of-15 shooting) and on the boards (grabbing a 12-9 rebounding advantage). The only struggles in the frame came at the line where the Bees shot just 3-of-8, costing them the lead heading into the final period.

Back-to-back three-point plays, first from Jamie Martens, then from Madeline Prestegaard, gave St. Ambrose its first lead since the game's opening minutes at 78-75 with 3:49 to play.

A minute later, Prestegaard scored inside to give the Bees an 80-79 lead. Those would prove to be the team's final points. SAU had three chances to extend the lead but came up empty with a pair of turnovers sandwiched around a long 3-point miss from Epperson. The Cougars ended a more-than-two-minute scoring drought of their own to retake an 81-80 lead with just over a minute left.

Martens had a shot for the lead but her layup was off the mark. The Bees got the ball back after an SXU offensive foul with 32 seconds left, leading to Wroblewski's look at the end.

After allowing Saint Xavier to score 55 points in the first half, SAU tightened up the defense in the second half, limiting the Cougars to 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) shooting to have a shot at the win.

Wroblewski finished 8-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the line in pouring in her 25 points. Epperson came off the bench to knock down five 3-pointers in scoring 15. Prestegaard netted 11.

Charlotte Flynn and Jaynee Prestegaard each scored nine points and Martens chipped in with seven.

Martens and Madeline Prestegaard each pulled down a team-high nine rebounds while Maddy Cash was credited with a game-high seven assists.

St. Ambrose (7-10, 5-5 CCAC) will visit Calumet St. Joseph Saturday.