GREENVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois College women's basketball team concluded action at the Greenville University Tournament by defeating the host Panthers 69-61 Saturday evening. With the victory, the Lady Blues went 2-0 in the tournament and improve to 3-2 overall this season.
In the early portion of the game, IC's
Ashlyn Wightman started a 7-0 run with back-to-back baskets in the paint as
Madison Webb added a three-point field goal that gave IC the 9-5 advantage. Midway through the first quarter, Greenville responded with a 12-0 run that was eventually snapped on Wightman jump shot that made the score 13-17. IC closed out the quarter on a 3-0 run that gave Greenville the 21-16 lead after the first period.
The Lady Blues continued the run in the second by scoring on back-to-back possessions that included baskets from Webb and Wightman that cut the deficit down to one at 20-21. Each team spurted off several separate 4-0 runs to a four-point Panther lead at 27-23. IC's
Maya Smith responded with consecutive baskets for IC that tied the game at 27. Shortly later,
Jayln Patterson tied the game at 29-29 with a lay-in. Greenville closed out the first half on 4-2 run and took the 37-35 lead into halftime.
IC came out in the second half red hot from the field and erupted for a 12-0 run started by a Patterson layup. In the run,
Gracie Kizer and
Kendra Bass each netted a three-point field goal while Wightman added two additional baskets in the paint that gave IC the 47-37 lead. The Lady Blues displayed great defensive and held the Panthers to nine points in the quarter. IC took the 54-46 lead into the final period.
IC's
Brooklyn Stiefel increased the Lady Blues lead back to double-digits at 56-46 with the first basket in the fourth quarter. The Panthers quickly responded with a 6-0 run that cut the lead down to three at 56-53 that was snapped on a Wightman jump shot. That basket by Wightman started a 10-0 run as Kizer added the final six points of the run that made the score 66-53. The Panthers was able to cut the deficit down to five at 66-61 but Wightman sealed the game with by knocking down a free-throw with 15 seconds remaining that granted the final score 69-61.
For the game, IC was led by Wightman with a her third double-double of the season as she recorded a game-high 23 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks. Patterson also recorded her third a double-double of the season by adding 10 points and 10 rebounds while Bass contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Lady Blues will travel to Millikin University on Sunday, November 26 to face the Big Blue at 2:00 PM in Decatur, Illinois.
