Baton Rouge, LA - Four players notched double figures for the #5 Illinois Central College women's basketball as they held off DI Delgado (out of New Orleans) 83-77 on Saturday afternoon in the BRCC Lady Bears Classic. 

Lily Luczkowiak (22 points, 7 rebounds), Kam Heider (16 points, 4 assists), Hannah West (14 points), and Ellie VanMeenen (13 points, 5 assists, 1 charge taken) combined to lead the way in moving the Cougars to 2-0 on the young season. Maziah Shelton pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with 8 points.

"This was a gritty win," coach Karrie Redeker said. "Delgado kept coming at us but we showed great resiliency to get the win. We had several kids step up and we're proud of how they stuck together." 

The Cougars came out hot against the Dolphin zone, nailing four three-pointers in the opening quarter (Heider, West, Piper Whiteman, and VanMeenen). Luczkowiak took advantages of openings in the paint, adding seven points and a 26-22 ICC lead.

The second quarter defense was the difference for the Cougars, as they held DCC to just 13 points. The offense kept humming as Luczkowiak and VanMeenen combined for 12 points and A'Meah Lester and West nailed treys to go up 51-35 at the half.

Delgado started the second half on a run to quickly cut their deficit to 52-46. But the Cougars stayed resilient, getting stops on defense and cashing those in for two treys by West and another by Heider to go back up by double digits at 70-58 heading into the fourth.

The Cougar lead stayed around 8-10 points in the fourth as Heider added a trey and West scored in transition, Luczkowiak added two more baskets, and Maziah Shelton scored inside. A late bank shot trey by the Dolphins provided the final score.  

I BEAT THE DEAN: Ellie VanMeenen

UP NEXT: 
Home opener - Sat, Nov. 8 at 1pm
vs. #3 Kirkwood 
Ramsey Gym, East Peoria, IL
*Prior to tip-off, the team will recognize the family of late assistant coach Greg Martin, who gave 27 years of service to the program.

Other: Highlights of the trip including eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde, shopping in the French Quarter in New Orleans, and attending the LSU women's basketball practice. The team got to meet legendary coach Kim Mulkey and superstar Flau'jae Johnson. A great time was had by all!