Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College women's basketball team had more trouble with Lawrence University before tip-off than after on Friday night in an 80-67 victory. The Vikings took their one and only lead of the night on a technical foul before the opening tip due to a clock malfunction. The Lady Blues erased that 1-0 deficit with a 7-0 run and cruised, going up by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter before a late LU rally. The victory lifts IC to 7-3 (3-0 Midwest Conference).
The first half in particular was a nightmare for the Lawrence offense. The visitors shot just 7-of-32 (.219) from the field, allowing Illinois College to take a 36-22 lead at the break.
Megan Price was the offensive leader for the Lady Blues in the first half, canning three three-pointers. A 16-point lead was trimmed to nine late in the second quarter, but
Junie Zirkelbach helped restore the lead with consecutive jump shots and
Grace Yaunches hit a shot from the wing just before the horn to push the advantage back to 14 points.
The Bass sisters took over the scoring load down the stretch in the third quarter, combining for Illinois College's final 10 points of the frame to push the lead up to 61-39 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The IC lead grew to as much as 29, 78-49, on a
Lakeida Nichols jumper with just over five minutes remaining. Some sloppy play in the final minutes combined with Lawrence's best shooting stretch of the night allowed the Vikings to go on a 13-0 run, but the win was never in doubt.
Kendra Bass and
Krista Bass each ended with 11 points. Yaunches added 10.
Lilly Pepper had eight points and 11 rebounds as part of a group effort that helped neutralize Lawrence's Kenya Earl, who was held below her season averages with 15 points and five boards.
The win on Friday night combined with a Ripon College win at Knox College sets up an early-season showdown for first place in the conference on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Blues and Red Hawks are now the final two teams in the MWC at 3-0 going into tomorrow's 3 p.m. tip-off.
