Port Huron, MI - Lily Luczkowiak's 24 points and 9 rebounds led the #7 Illinois Central College women's basketball team to a 67-62 victory over #5 Harcum (PA) in the opening round of the Thumbcoast Classic in Port Huron, MI on Thursday afternoon. The Cougars got key contributions from Kam Heider (10 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds), Larissa Taylor (11 rebounds, 6 points, 3 blocks), Hannah West (9 points), and Maziah Shelton (8 rebounds, 6 points) to advance to the winner's bracket to face #4 Pima (AZ) on Friday at 4pm CST.

"Our defense was the key," coach Karrie Redeker said. "Harcum had some quick guards who could get in the paint and others who could really shoot it, but we did a great job of neutralizing them in our zone. Emily Dana had two big three's in the second quarter that helped get us back on track, and then we hung together and made enough plays down the stretch to get the win. Every player had a part in this and that was great to see." 

The Cougars got an early lead on layups by Luczkowiak, Taylor, and Addy Engel but the Bears fought back to take a 14-13 lead midway through the opening period. HCC then went on a 9-2 run to take a 23-16 first quarter advantage.

Harcum opened the second quarter with a basket for their largest lead at 25-15 but the Cougars started clawing back thanks to their stingy zone defense. Offensively, Luczkowiak had two free throws and a layup and then Dana nailed her two treys from the right wing (assists Heider) to get the Cougars rolling. West and Heider each added three-balls which helped propel the Cougars to grab the lead at 34-33. West hit an off-balance trey from the top of the key as the halftime buzzer sounded to put ICC ahead 43-38 at the break. 

The Cougars opened the half on a five-minute scoring drought which allowed HCC to tie the score at 43-all. Heider scored in the paint for a layup and then Shelton, Luczkowiak, and Taylor added scores as ICC went up 52-47 heading into the final stanza.

Luczkowiak opened the fourth with a layup and three-pointer to increase the Cougars' lead to 57-50 but Harcum fought back to draw to within 58-56 with 4:46 to play. ICC countered with a Luczkowiak layup (assist A'Meah Lester) on an out-of-bounds play and went back up to 62-56. The strong Cougar defense kept the Bears at bay while Taylor and Heider added scores for the final margin.

COUGAR LEADERS:
Lily Luczkowiak | 24 pts, 9 reb
Kam Heider | 10 pts, 4 reb, 4 assists, & I BEAT THE DEAN!
Larissa Taylor | 11 reb, 6 pts
Hannah West | 9 pts
Maziah Shelton | 8 reb, 6 pts
Addy Engel | 7 reb, 5 pts

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Friday, Nov. 14 at 4pm CST
vs. #4 Pima
Thumbcoast Classic - Port Huron, MI
Livestream: https://stream.prestosports.com/stclaircountycc  ($7.95 per day)