On a night when both teams struggled to get much to drop offensively, Saint Xavier did just enough in the fourth quarter to escape with a 57-50 win over St. Ambrose at Lee Lohman Arena Wednesday.

The Bees shot just 27.3 percent (15-of-55) from the floor, including an 8-of-34 mark from beyond the arc while the Cougars shot 32.4 percent (22-of-68) overall and just 8-of-31 on threes in the conference opener for both teams.

St. Ambrose (2-2, 0-1 CCAC), which outscored SXU 12-5 from the line, was able to build a 44-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But the Bees' offensive struggles intensified in the final frame. SAU was just 2-of-14 from the field over the final 10 minutes. That included a 1-of-8 mark from 3-point range.

That opened the door for Saint Xavier (3-2, 1-0 CCAC) and the Cougars capitalized. SXU shot just 6-of-18 overall, but hit 3-of-7 attempts from deep. They were also 5-of-6 from the line down the stretch.

Over the first five minutes of the fourth period, the Bees managed just a single point, that coming on an Abby Wolter free throw. The Cougars scored 13 points over the same time frame to open up a 50-45 lead.

Jayla Stirgus ended the drought from the field by knocking down a 3-pointer to get SAU to within 50-48. But after Wolter scored to keep the deficit at two at 52-50 with 3:20 to play, the Bees would not score again, misfiring on their final five shots from the floor. Saint Xavier ended the game with the last five points.

The loss spoiled a pair of double-doubles for the Bees. Wolter finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Caitlyn Thole came up with 11 points and 13 boards. They were the only two Bees to score in double figures.

Stirgus scored nine points and Payton Calouette finished with eight. Hayley Flores dropped in three points. Olivia Harter scored the only two points coming off the SAU bench. The SXU reserves accounted for 17 points.

St. Ambrose will visit Indiana South Bend Saturday.