East Peoria, Ill. -  The eighth-ranked Illinois Central College women's basketball team (11-5) used aggressive rebounding and solid defense to claim a 76-66 victory over Danville Area in the Region 24 & Mid-West Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Ramsey Gym.  The Cougars cashed 15 offensive rebounds into 17 points while limiting Danville to 34% field goal shooting on the afternoon to get the win.

Offensively, ICC shot 49% from the field and placed four players in double figures - Cierra McNamee (22 points), Miya Webb (13 points), Halie Gilbert (12 points), and Kyleigh Block (11 points) while dishing out 18 assists.  Block recorded her first career double-double, shagging 11 boards (including five offensive) as ICC out-rebounded the Jaguars 39-26.  

With the win the Cougars recorded their 1,400th win in program history, which the legendary and Hall of Fame coach Lorene Ramsey started back in 1969.

"We loved the overall effort of our team today," women's basketball coach Karrie Redeker said.  "Danville is a good team so we needed a solid team defensive effort to beat them and we got that, along with the extra efforts on the glass.  We're also very excited to have gotten the 1400th win in program history and continue to be a part of the winning tradition here."

McNamee and Gilbert combined for the first twelve points as ICC took a 12-8 advantage midway through the first period.  Webb scored on a layup and found Laisha Armendariz for a three-pointer and Peyton Dearing got an old-fashioned three-point play to put ICC ahead 20-12 at the quarter break.

Dearing found Gilbert inside and then took a charge to keep the defense energized but Danville went on a run to close their gap to 22-18.  Dearing answered with a layup in transition and then the Cougars scored their next six points on offensive putbacks: two from Block and one from T'yana Lovelace, as ICC kept a 30-25 lead with 2:04 left in the quarter.  The Cougars went on a 6-1 run to close the half as Armendariz hit a runner, McNamee got a block on the defensive end and then splashed in a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the hosts a 36-26 halftime edge.

The Cougars' first three scores of the third quarter all came on assists as McNamee and Gilbert combined for baskets (2 assists from Block and 1 from Dearing) to keep the lead at double digits at 42-32.  Block and McNamee each converted offensive rebounds into scores and Webb splashed in a three-pointer to keep the lead a 49-39.  Despite a Paris Wilson layup, Danville closed the quarter on a small run to close their deficit to 51-44 heading into the final frame.

McNamee scored inside on the first two possessions and Gilbert had a putback to give ICC a 57-46 advantage to open the fourth, but DACC crawled back to 57-50.  Danville kept pace with free throws but was unable to make a dent in the Cougar lead as Naomi Elliott and Webb combined to score ten points on a variety of drives to the basket and Block added a trey (assist Elliott) to keep the Cougar lead at 70-60.  ICC closed the game out with free throws for the final margin.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cierra McNamee | 22 points, 7 rebounds
Miya Webb | 13 points
Halie Gilbert | 12 points, 6 rebounds
Kyleigh Block | 11 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists + "I Beat the Dean"
Peyton Dearing | 5 points, 4 assists, 1 charge taken
Naomi Elliott | 5 reobunds, 4 points, 3 assists

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Wednesday, January 18th - 5:30 PM
@ #10 Lake Land Lakers (14-3, 1-0)
LLC Fieldhouse - Mattoon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (BoxOut Sports); Link TBA
LISTEN LIVE (Mixlr)