JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team was outrebounded in the first quarter but controlled the glass after the opening 10 minutes and rode a +13 rebounding advantage to a 71-60 win over St. Norbert College on Wednesday night. The win ups IC's record to 6-7 (2-4 Midwest Conference).
Illinois College started the game quickly, opening up a 10-3 lead after six minutes of play. A
Madi Peyton three-point play just before the end of the quarter gave the Lady Blues a 20-13 edge.
Buckets by
Madison Schoenfeld and
Carly Cameron to start the second quarter pushed IC's lead into double-digits, but St. Norbert didn't go away, answering with an 8-0 run to pull within three at 24-21. The Lady Blues retained their lead throughout and went to the half on top, 28-25.
Illinois College held St. Norbert scoreless for nearly the first four full minutes of the second half, starting the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take a commanding 39-25 advantage. Back-to-back three-pointers from
Megan Price and
Grace Yaunches late in the period made it 50-34, and the Lady Blues headed to the final 10 minutes with a 52-38 cushion.
St. Norbert made a push to get back in it, getting within eight points with 5:28 to go on a free throw from Sarah Neumann. Schoenfeld had a quick answer on the other end and
Brielle Greenleaf then converted a layup late in the shot clock to give IC a 12-point lead with under five minutes to play. Despite scoring their last points with more than two minutes left, the IC defense wouldn't allow St. Norbert to get the deficit back under 10 points down the stretch.
Cameron scored a game-high 18 points and pulled in 11 rebounds on the night. Schoenfeld also notched a double-double with 17 points and 13 boards, five of them on the offensive end. Greenleaf and Price tacked on eight points apiece.
The Lady Blues will look for their third win in a row on Jan. 5 when they travel to take on Beloit College at 2 p.m.
