By: Down a point after one quarter, IC held Beloit scoreless in the second quarter and never trailed again in the contest.
Box Score
BELOIT, Wis. –
Shannen Quehl compiled 16 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double, and the Illinois College women's basketball team survived a second-half push from Beloit College to hold on for the 46-40 road win. The Lady Blues improve to 11-9 (8-7 Midwest Conference). Beloit falls to 6-14 (4-11 MWC).
Wednesday night's matchup was a defensive battle from the outset as the Lady Blues shot 27 percent from the floor and Beloit wasn't much better, ending at 30 percent for the contest. Shelby Kline got things rolling for the Buccaneers, draining a three-pointer just over a minute in to give Beloit the early 3-0 lead. Quehl got the Lady Blues on the board with a jumper four minutes in to bring the score to 3-2. IC would take its first lead of the game with under a minute left in the quarter when a Quehl layup gave the Lady Blues a 9-8 advantage. Nora Polaski would hit both of her free throws with 11 seconds left in the quarter to send Beloit into the second frame leading, 10-9.
The second quarter was all Illinois College.
Grace Yaunches reclaimed the lead for IC with a pair of free throws, putting the Lady Blues ahead, 11-10. From there, three different players scored for IC, as the Lady Blues scored all nine points in the frame. Beloit committed seven turnovers in the quarter, as well as shot 0-of-10 from the floor. A three-pointer by
Jaicie Halleman just before the buzzer sounded gave Illinois College an 18-10 halftime lead.
After a Polaski layup to start the half, the Lady Blues scored the next five points to give the team their largest lead of the game, 23-12, two minutes into the quarter. Beloit's offense came to life as Kline drilled back-to-back threes and the Buccaneers constructed an 11-0 run to bring the game to a 25-25 deadlock.
Brielle Greenleaf hit a free throw at the end of the quarter to put IC up, 28-25, heading into the final 10 minutes.
Sydney Lett drained a three midway through the final frame to give the Lady Blues a 36-29 advantage, but Beloit would come clawing back. Kelsey Horvath scored five points in the quarter and the Buccaneers cut the Lady Blues' lead to two points on three separate occasions, the last being with 24 seconds left in the game. IC went 4-6 from the line in those final 24 seconds though, putting the game on ice as the Bucs failed to hit another shot.
Quehl was the only player in double-figures for IC, though Greenleaf ended with nine points and both Halleman and Lett had seven.
Mickalah York added eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
Illinois College returns home for Senior Day on Feb. 11 as the Lady Blues host Ripon College. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
