Port Huron, MI - A gritty defensive and rebounding effort combined with balanced scoring led the #7 Illinois Central College to an 86-68 win over #4 Pima (AZ) at the Thumbcoast Classic on Friday night. The win advanced the Cougars to Saturday's championship, where they will face Lansing in a 5pm (CST) contest.

The Cougars held Pima to just 30% field goal shooting and out-rebounded them 38-31 while five players reached double figures in Kam Heider (16), Addy Engel (15), Lily Luczkowiak (15), Hannah West (14), and Maziah Shelton (11). Shelton led the effort on the boards with 8 caroms, while Heider and Engel each pulled down six. Larissa Taylor added 8 points and 4 rebounds for ICC, who is now 4-1 overall.

"Our team showed a lot of grit today," coach Karrie Redeker said. "Pima is a very good basketball team and our kids harassed them defensively all night. The fourth quarter was a wild one, but it turned out in our favor so we'll definitely take it." 

ICC took an early 13-5 lead on a jumper and trey from Taylor to go along with a Luczkowiak layup and three-pointer. Heider and West also nailed baskets from downtown as ICC went ahead 23-18 after one.

In the second stanza the Cougars stayed in front on Heider, Engel, and Shelton layups but Pima fought back and hung tough to trail just 32-31. And just like Thursday night, the Cougars took momentum into the halftime locker room on a West three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer for a 35-31 edge at the break.

Pima opened the third period on a run to grab a brief lead at 36-35 but a Heider layup sparked a 10-2 run as Luczkowiak and Engel combined for eight points on attacks at the rim for a 45-38 lead at the 3:45 mark. After an Aztec score, A'Meah Lester scored on a nifty layup, Shelton made two freebies, and Luczkowiak added a layup (assist Taylor) as the Cougars took a 52-45 advantage into the final frame.

The Cougars got an incredible start to the final quarter. opening with a 15-0 run in a three-minute span to break the game open. Luczkowiak scored inside (assist Heider) and Shelton followed with an old-fashioned three-point play. The Aztecs were then called for three technical fouls (on a player, the bench, and a coach) and Heider cashed in five freebies to stretch the lead to 69-48. Heider, Luczkowiak, and Engel scored inside and West added back-to-back treys from the left wing as the Cougars went up 86-55 with just 2:11 to play.

The tide then turned slightly as Pima went on their own 15-0 run to close the game but it was too little, too late.

COUGARS' STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kam Heider | 16 pts, 6 reb
Addy Engel | 15 pts, 6 reb
Lily Luczkowiak | 15 pts, 3 reb
Hannah West | 14 pts
Maziah Shelton | 11 pts, 3 reb
Larissa Taylor | 8 pts, 4 reb

I BEAT THE DEAN: The Entire Team

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Saturday, November 15 at 5:00 pm CST
at Thumbcoast Classic, Port Huron, MI
vs. Lansing
Livestream link: https://stream.prestosports.com/stclaircountycc ($7.95 per day)