Tucson, AZ - The 15th-ranked Illinois Central College Women's Basketball team (3-2, 0-0) concluded the game portion of its Arizona trip on Friday night, taking on the Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes (1-3) at Aztec Gymnasium on the campus of Pima Community College. The first half was closely contested, but a layup from
Lily Luczkowiak just before halftime turned into second half momentum and a 67-48 Cougar victory.
ICC was moving the ball well early.
Addy Engel drew a foul on a shot attempt inside, and hit a pair of free throws for an early 6-1 lead for the Cougars. Fast break opportunities presented themselves as well in the opening minutes, with
Savannah Orgeron coming down with a defensive rebound and working it ahead to
Kaitlin White who would hit an open three-pointer from the top of the key for a 10-7 lead. A big block from Orgeron with 1:10 to go in the quarter maintained that lead.
Khalise Thomas got a rebound at the end of the quarter and sped up the floor enough to give the Cougars a high quality look at a multiple-possession lead, but an on-target trey would not fall and keep the lead at three.
Engel would find
Lauren Maas, who was cutting along the baseline, and Maas found Luczkowiak for a jump shot from the right baseline for a 17-17 tie. Chandler Gilbert would drive in for a layup, and Thomas reached in and got a jump ball, so with the possession arrow favoring ICC, it would be a forced turnover as well for Thomas. Engel would fight for a tough layup, dribbling against her defender for a 22-18 advantage with 2:05 until the half. Tight defense along the baseline from Engel and Luczkowiak forced a steal, which would become a crucial Luczkowiak and-one on the other end, giving ICC a 26-20 lead and momentum into the locker room.
The Cougars were looking to pull ahead early after the break. A one-handed rebound from Engel led to
Addi Swadinsky finding Luczkowiak for another and-one, converted this time, and giving ICC a coveted double-digit lead at 32-20 with 8:05 to go in the third, capping a 6-0 run to start the second half. ICC was able to pick off an inbounds pass by Chandler Gilbert, and on the fast break Engel found Swadinsky, who found
Emily Dana for a breakaway layup and a 35-25 lead. White stood in on the defense and a Coyote drive turned into a drawn charge by the freshman to maintain the double-figure lead at 37-27. A miniature 5-0 run was capped when White found a wide open Orgeron from the key to give the Cougars a new largest lead at 42-27. With Swadinsky running the point, Luczkowiak was able to get behind her defender and have a fairly open layup on the right post for a 44-29 advantage. The Coyotes narrowly out-scored ICC for the rest of the quarter, as the Cougars led 47-33 going into the final frame.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the ICC lead swelled even more so, with Thomas finding Orgeron at the right wing for a three-pointer and a new largest lead of 52-33. Swadinsky fought through the lane for a tough off-balance layup due to the Chandler-Gilbert defense, and gave ICC a new level of offensive success - a 20-point margin. A White trey from the key put the margin at 21 and the Cougars were cruising. DeSutter had a key stretch starting at 3:09 remaining in the game, getting a physical step through against her defender after a successful post-up, and put the Cougars ahead 65-42. Another DeSutter layup after a post-up gave ICC their final point total of 67. The Coyotes would score four in garbage time, but alas, a defensive rebound from
Gracie Heckert allowed the redshirt freshman to dribble it out to secure the 19-point victory.
COUGAR STATISTICS (No Box Scores provided, limited to 'scorebook stats')
Addy Engel | 20 points (career-high), 5 2-pointers, 1 3-pointer, 7-9 free throws
Lily Luczkowiak | 17 points, 7 2-pointers, 3-6 free throws
Savannah Orgeron | 8 points, 1 2-pointer, 2 3-pointers
Cora DeSutter | 8 points, 2 2-pointers, 4-4 free throws
Kaitlin White | 6 points, 2 3-pointers
Emily Dana | 4 points, 2 2-pointers
Addi Swadinsky | 2 points, 1 2-pointer
Kamryn Heider | 2 points, 2-2 free throws
COUGAR TEAM TOTALS
18 2-Pointers
5 3-Pointers
16-23 Free Throws (69.5%)
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Black Hawk Braves (3-1)
Wednesday, November 20th - 5:30PM
at Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, IL
Watch Live (YouTube)
Listen Live (Mixlr)
