By: Already ahead by 13 at the half, Illinois College limited Crown College to only four points in the second half of a 71-20 victory.
Box Score
SAN JUAN, P.R. – The Illinois College women's basketball team ran its winning streak to five games, improving to 7-2 on the season after a 71-20 blowout of Crown College on Wednesday morning. The Lady Blues were already ahead, 29-16, at halftime, but buckled down on defense even more in the third and fourth quarters and limited the Storm to a mere four points in the second half.
Given the final score, Crown surprisingly took a 3-0 lead on the first possession of the game on a three-ball from Miranda Brueggeman, and even managed an 11-9 lead with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Six straight points from
Brielle Greenleaf and a late basket from
Melissa Solorio gave the Lady Blues a 17-11 lead after the opening 10 minutes however.
The second quarter saw Illinois College push its advantage even more.
Carly Cameron netted the first four points of the quarter at the charity stripe and
Shannen Quehl followed with a pair of baskets to give the Lady Blues a 25-15 edge. By halftime, the IC lead was up to 13 points.
Illinois College took total control in the third quarter, outscoring the Storm, 24-2. Crown went scoreless for more than six minutes before hitting two free throws. By that time, the Lady Blues had put the first 15 points of the second half on the board and led, 44-18.
Sydney Lett followed those free throws with a three-pointer to start another run of nine unanswered to make it 53-18 by the end of the quarter.
The domination from the Lady Blues continued even with the starters on the bench for the final minutes. The 9-0 run from the third quarter turned into a 27-0 run as Illinois College scored the first 18 points of the fourth quarter. Crown failed to make a field goal the entire half until just 17 seconds remained. For the game, the Storm were held to 7-of-57 (.123) shooting from the floor.
Greenleaf paced the Illinois College offense with 19 points on the day, while Cameron added 11.
Madi Peyton led the bench brigade with nine points, while Quehl, Solorio and
Grace Yaunches all had six points.
The Lady Blues will return to Midwest Conference action with a huge matchup on Jan. 4 on the road at Cornell College. IC and the Rams will both come into the game at 4-0 in the MWC with sole possession of first place on the line. Tip-off in Mount Vernon, Iowa is slated for 5 p.m.
