Port Huron, MI - Addy Engel and Lily Luczkowiak each had 15 points and 7 rebounds to lead the #7 Illinois Central College women's basketball team to a 75-66 victory over (RV) Lansing to capture the Thumbcoast Classic Championship on Saturday evening at the SC4 Fieldhouse. Engel added 4 assists while Luczkowiak had 2 steals for ICC, who won their third game in three days in Port Huron. Kam Heider had 13 points and Hannah West had10 points, while Maziah Shelton pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds and had 7 points.

"This was a hard-fought win as both teams were running on fumes a little bit tonight," coach Karrie Redeker said. "Lansing is a very good team but we were able to get a ten-point cushion in the first half which helped a lot down the stretch. It's still really early in our season but this was a high-level tournament so it's a nice accomplishment for us. We're proud of how we competed this week." 

ICC took a 15-10 first quarter lead as six Cougars netted field goals (Heider, West, Engel, Ellie VanMeenen, and Shelton).

A'Meah Lester and Engel scored layups to open the second for a 24-14 advantage. Lansing cut their deficit to 32-28 but a trey by West (assist Lester) with :26 left in the half put ICC ahead 36-28 heading into halftime. 

Luczkowiak had three buckets to open the third period to help ICC maintain a 43-33 lead and then Heider splashed in a trey off a set play to make it 48-35. A Shelton basket and three-pointer from Piper Whiteman (assist VanMeenen) kept the Cougars ahead 55-44 heading into the fourth. 

Engel came up big in the fourth, scoring eight points to keep ICC ahead while a West three-pointer along with several free throws by Luczkowiak and Heider helped ICC win the title. ICC improved their record to 5-1.

"What a great experience to get to play teams from three different states---Pennsylvania (Harcum), Pima (Arizona), and Lansing (Michigan) in three days," Redeker said. "It also should be noted that we won bench scoring in each of these three games, so winning this was a total team effort." 

COUGARS' STATISTICAL LEADERS
Addy Engel | 15 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast
Lily Luczkowiak | 15 pts, 7 reb
Kam Heider | 14 pts, 3 reb
Hannah West | 10 pts
Maziah Shelton | 9 reb, 7 pts

FINAL RESULTS FROM THUMBCOAST CLASSIC
Championship: #7 Illinois Central 75, (RV) Lansing 66
3rd place: (#4) Pima 91, (#25) SUNY Niagara 54
5th place: (#5) Harcum 64, (#6) St. Clair 54
7th place: (RV) Jackson 78, (#16) Lake Land 64

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Wed, Nov. 19 at 5:30 pm
at Black Hawk College
Moline, IL 
Livestream link: https://blackhawkcollege.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Folders/DepartmentHome.aspx?folderID=13eaa630-1afa-434a-9bbb-ad9d00e0ddf5
Audio with Alex Staab: https://icc-womens-basketball.mixlr.com/