East Peoria, Ill.---The #11 ICC women's basketball team used a total team effort to record an 84-50 win over John Wood on Saturday afternoon at Ramsey Gym.  All ten Cougars who were dressed scored at least one basket, grabbed a rebound, and dished out an assist as ICC closed out the regular season on a high note.  The ladies handed out a total of 22 assists while the Blue Crew contributed an eye-popping 52 points and 18 rebounds to help the cause. 

Kayla Gordon and Kyleigh Block hit three-pointers to help ICC break out to an 8-4 lead.  Keijah Gray scored on a nice feed from Cierra McNamee, Dayja Evans got a steal and assisted Block on a layup, and then Block nailed another trey (assist Derria Edwards) as ICC took a 16-9 lead after one quarter.

Gordon started the second period with a stick-back and then Kristyn Mitchell, T'yana Lovelace, and Gray added baskets as ICC led 26-19.  The Cougars then went on a 14-3 run to open things up as Edwards and Evans nailed treys (assists Block and Lovelace) and then Lovelace, Gray, and Evans scored to put ICC up 40-24 at the half.  The defense also did its part, forcing 12 Blazer miscues in the first half, including a charge taken by Edwards.  

Mitchell, Gordon, and McNamee scored early to keep the Cougars moving and then Mitchell hit Courtney Jones for a reverse layup for a 48-29 lead.  Gray found Block for a nice give-and-go that ignited a 13-2 run to give ICC a 63-33 lead after three periods as Gray contributed two baskets, Gordon and Lovelace added layups, and Evans tickled the twine for a trey (assist Laisha Armendariz-Lopez) during the run.

All seven buckets in the fourth quarter came from assists as ICC continued to roll.  Armendariz-Lopez splashed in two three-pointers (assists Gray and Evans) and a pinpoint pass from Gordon to a streaking Edwards for a layup got the Cougars all revved up.  Lovelace and Gray added scores for the final margin to move ICC's record to 21-9 overall, 11-3 in Region 24, and 9-3 in the M-WAC.

Leaders
Keijah Gray | 13 pts, 7 reb
Kayla Gordon | 13 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast
T'yana Lovelace | 10 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast & "I Beat the Dean" Hustle Award
Dayja Evans | 10 pts, 4 reb
Kyleigh Block | 10 pts
Derria Edwards | 5 asts, 5 pts

Sophomore Day/Be the Change Game
The Cougars recognized six sophomores & their parents before the game:  Kayla Gordon, Courtney Jones, Keijah Gray, Derria Edwards, Dayja Evans, and Kristyn Mitchell.  ICC also held their 2^nd annual "Be the Change" game to promote diversity and equality.

Region Tourney is Next!
With the completion of the regular season, Region 24 tourney pairings are now set.  Game times for quarter-final games will be released on Monday; check illinoiscentralcougars.com for official start time of the March 2 game.  Here is the complete tourney schedule:

Wed, March 2 - quarter-final games---at the higher seed
Game 1:  #8 John Wood at #1 Lincoln Land (Springfield, IL)
Game 2:  #5 Danville at #4 Parkland (Champaign, IL)
Game 3:  #6 Spoon River at #3 Lake Land (Mattoon, IL)
Game 4:  #7 Lewis & Clark at #2 Illinois Central (East Peoria, IL)

Sat, March 5 - Semi-final games at John Wood CC (Quincy, IL)
Game 5:  2:00 pm---Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 6:  4:00 pm---Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4

Sun, March 6 - Championship at John Wood CC (Quincy, IL)
Game 7:  2:00 pm---Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6

Champion earns automatic bid to NJCAA National Tournament in Port Huron, MI on March 15-19