MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Illinois College women's basketball team trailed by just two points, 30-28, heading into halftime of their Midwest Conference matchup at Cornell College on Saturday. The Lady Blues knocked down only five field goals in the second half however, setting the Rams up in perfect position to pull away for a 69-43 victory. IC is now 8-9 (4-6 MWC) on the year.
Carly Cameron was a critical part of keeping Illinois College in it for the first 20 minutes. The senior had 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half and was the leading scorer in the game at halftime. A
Megan Price jumper gave the Lady Blues a 15-14 lead at the end of the opening quarter and a 6-0 run midway through the second quarter put IC up by three, 21-18, its largest lead of the day. Cornell was able to turn it around before halftime, going to the break ahead by two.
The third quarter started off promising as
Lilly Pepper converted a three-point play to give Illinois College a 31-30 lead in the first minute of play. Offensive woes started soon thereafter for the Lady Blues, with the team making just one field goal the rest of the quarter and going into the fourth trailing, 47-35.
Things didn't improve much in the final 10 minutes for the Lady Blues. Cornell started the quarter with back-to-back buckets before
Grace Yaunches made a shot to cut it to a 51-37 deficit. Another offensive drought ensued after that and Cornell's lead grew as high as 27 late in the contest. No player on the IC roster had more than three points after the break. Other than Cameron, Yaunches was the other Lady Blue to finish in double-figures, adding 10 on the day.
Illinois College is back in action on Jan. 31 at Lake Forest College for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
