By: The Lady Blues led by two going into the fourth quarter, but a strong finish to the game allowed the Panthers to escape with the win.
Box Score
GREENVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team fell to 1-2 on the season following a 77-74 loss at Greenville University on Saturday afternoon.
Brielle Greenleaf and
Shannen Quehl combined for 47 points, but it wasn't enough for the Lady Blues, who shot just 9-of-19 at the charity stripe in the contest.
The game got off to a rough start as Illinois College quickly fell behind, 6-0, however the Lady Blues managed to recover and take a 15-12 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Bailey Paskach scored all four of her points in the game to bring IC back into the lead, along with four points from
Grace Yaunches.
A three-pointer by Greenleaf and a short jumper from Quehl staked Illinois College to a 20-12 lead a minute into the second quarter, but the Panthers responded with a 13-2 run to go on top, 25-22. Following a 6-0 spurt from the Lady Blues, Greenville closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 32-28 edge at halftime.
The strong closing burst from Greenville extended to the second half as the Panther lead reached double-digits at 43-32. A Meredith Crosier jumper with 3:24 left in the quarter put the home team ahead, 51-39, but the Lady Blues then closed the quarter on a 16-2 run with a
Madi Peyton three-pointer giving Illinois College a 55-53 lead going to the fourth.
The lead grew to five for IC early in the fourth on a Greenleaf triple before a 7-0 run by Greenville put the Panthers up by two, 64-62. Three points by
Carly Cameron gave the Lady Blues their final advantage of the game, 68-66, with six minutes remaining. From there, the Panthers scored five straight to go on top, 71-68, and Illinois College was forced to play catch-up. Greenville knocked down its free throws, making all six in the final quarter, and a Greenleaf three at the buzzer was no good.
Greenleaf ended the day with 25 points, while Quehl had 22 and a team-high seven rebounds. Yaunches and Peyton each added eight.
Illinois College returns to Jacksonville for its home opener on Nov. 21, facing Blackburn College in Sherman Gymnasium at 6 p.m.
