By: Trailing by 12 at halftime, Illinois College came back to tie the game by the end of the third quarter, only to run out of gas in the final minutes.
Box Score
GALESBURG, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team roared back from 20 points down in the second quarter to take the lead before the end of the third quarter, but Knox College had more left in the tank for the final minutes and came away with a 72-60 win over the Lady Blues on Wednesday night. With the loss, IC drops to 9-5 (6-3 Midwest Conference), while Knox improves to 9-5 (6-3 MWC). The Lady Blues fall into a four-way tie for third place in the conference as the conference season reaches its midpoint.
The trouble began early for Illinois College as Knox scored the first five points of the contest, then hit three three-pointers in rapid succession after the Lady Blues had taken a brief 12-11 lead. With time winding down in the first quarter,
Grace Yaunches nailed a three of her own and IC trailed by only five, 20-15 after 10 minutes of play.
The Knox lead ballooned in the second quarter as Illinois College failed to score for more than six minutes of action. By the time
Brielle Greenleaf knocked down a three at the 3:39 mark, the Prairie Fire were out in front, 35-18. Only a late push that included two more treys from Greenleaf and
Jaicie Halleman allowed the Lady Blues to close to within 38-26 at the break.
For as quickly as Knox had pulled away, Illinois College was just as quick to reel the Prairie Fire back in. With a minute gone in the third quarter and Knox still ahead, 40-27, IC went on a 9-0 with all the points coming either from Yaunches or
Melissa Solorio. Later in the quarter, Halleman tied the game at 46-46 on a three-ball and
Carly Cameron gave Illinois College the lead at 48-46. The teams would head to the fourth quarter tied at 50-50.
In the final 10 minutes, it was Knox's turn to find its offensive rhythm again. After tying the game just before the end of the third quarter, the run continued and reached 11-0 for the Prairie Fire, giving them a 59-50 edge with less than seven minutes to play. Yaunches finally scored at the 5:25 mark of the quarter to get IC back on the board, but that was answered down on the other end by a Hailey Leinart three-pointer and the Lady Blues would never be closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Cameron led Illinois College with 14 points on the night, though she was limited to 22 minutes due to foul trouble. Yaunches had 13 points and five steals. Halleman scored 11 points before fouling out, and Greenleaf added 10.
Illinois College will face another big test on Jan. 21 when it welcomes Cornell College to Sherman Gymnasium. The Rams will enter the weekend at 11-3 (9-0 MWC) and with a two-game lead in the conference standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
