By: The interior presence and quick hands of the St. Norbert defense were too much for Illinois College on Wednesday night.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – In an early-season test against the Midwest Conference leaders, the Illinois College women's basketball team hung with St. Norbert early on Wednesday night, but was eventually worn down by the strong defense of the Green Knights and suffered a 72-45 defeat at Sherman Gymnasium. SNC improves to 8-2 (5-0 MWC), while IC slips to 5-4 (3-2 MWC).
It was tough sledding on the offensive end of the court all night for the Lady Blues.
Hannah McGinnis was able to collect another double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but she was limited to just 8-of-23 shooting from the field. No other player for IC was able to reach double-figures and the Lady Blues shot just 31 percent as a team.
Early on in the game, Illinois College was having better luck. IC was able to hit its first three shots of the game, the last of which was a
Melissa Solorio three-pointer that put the Lady Blues on top, 7-5. On the next trip down the floor, the Green Knights tied it on a short jumper by Tasha Giese. After IC's first miss of the game, Jill Kleiman swished in a three-pointer to put St. Norbert ahead, 10-7. The Green Knights wouldn't trail again the rest of the way.
For a while, Illinois College was able to hang in with the visitors. A 7-0 run staked St. Norbert to a 17-9 edge, but that was countered by a quick 6-0 response from the Lady Blues to close within two points, 17-15, with 8:35 remaining in the first half. The McGinnis layup that closed that run would ultimately be the last field goal that IC would make in the first half though, as the Lady Blues were able to score just four more points on free throws before the break. St. Norbert extended its lead to 29-19 by halftime.
Coming out to start the second half, the Green Knights picked up where they had left off, rattling off the first seven points for a 36-19 lead within the first two minutes of the restart.
Maddy Keith temporarily halted SNC's momentum with a pair of layups, but for the most part, the lane was closed off to most shot attempts for the Lady Blues. St. Norbert blocked six shots in each half, stifling IC in an area where the team usually enjoys a significant advantage on almost every opponent.
A 14-4 run from the Green Knights in the middle of the second half put to rest any hopes of an Illinois College comeback, as St. Norbert went ahead, 58-34, with just over eight minutes remaining. A 7-0 surge from the Lady Blues in the closing minutes made the score more respectable, but SNC cruised comfortably to the finish.
Keith was IC's second-leading scorer in the game with eight points and she matched her season high with eight rebounds in the contest as well.
Jill Friedrich contributed seven points off the bench.
Illinois College will wrap up non-conference play when it next takes the court. The Lady Blues host Blackburn College at Sherman Gymnasium on Dec. 31, starting at 5:30 p.m.
