Kankakee, IL - The #3 Illinois Central College women's basketball team used a total team effort to defeat #18 Kankakee 74-64 on Thursday night at Ryan Gym. The Cougars placed five players in double figures in the see-saw affair as they tied their season-high with 10 three-pointers, and dug in defensively down the stretch in winning their sixth straight.

ICC is now 8-1 overall, while Kankakee dropped to 6-2.

"We got contributions from up and down the line-up with a lot of different players making big plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor," coach Karrie Redeker said. "We definitely earned this one."

Five players reached double figures in Kam Heider (16), Addy Engel (14), Lily Luczkowiak (13), Kaitlin White (14), and Hannah West (10) while Ellie VanMeenen dished out five assists and Heider had four. The rebounding effort was led by Maziah Shelton (5) and Larissa Taylor (5). 

ICC took an early 13-8 lead on layups by Luczkowiak and Engel and a trey from Heider. A steal and layup by West and runner from A'Meah Lester kept ICC on the attack but the Cavs got in the bonus early (shooting 14 freebies in the frame) and took a 20-19 first-quarter lead. 

Both teams got hot from long-range in the second as White hit two treys and West and Heider had one apiece to put ICC up 34-32. The Cougars added a drive from Luczkowiak and Heider three-pointer to take a narrow 39-37 halftime advantage. 
 
The Cougars opened the third on an 11-0 run as Luckzowiak scored inside (assist VanMeenen), West had a layup in transition and a trey (assists Heider), and Engel had two layups (assists VanMeenen & West) to put ICC ahead 50-39. After a KCC score, Engel had an old-fashioned three-point play as ICC went up 53-39. However, Kankakee answered with a 10-3 run in the final three minutes of the quarter to trim the Cougar lead to 56-49 heading into the fourth.

White nailed a three-pointer on a set play (assist Lester) and VanMeenen made a layup (assist West) for a 62-53 lead. Heider splashed in her fourth trey of the game on a kick-out from Luczkowiak for a 65-55 advantage at the 4:56 mark, but Kankakee went on one final run to cut their deficit to 67-64 with 2:32 to play. The Cougar defense tightened at the right time, holding the Cavs scoreless the rest of the way and then free throws by Luczkowiak, Engel, Lester, and Heider put the game away.

UNOFFICIAL STATS FOR THE COUGARS
Kam Heider | 16 points, 4 assists
Addy Engel | 14 points
Lily Luczkowiak | 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Kaitlin White | 13 points
Hannah West | 10 points, 4 assists
A'Meah Lester | 6 points, 2 steals
Ellie VanMeenen | 5 assists, 2 points
Larissa Taylor | 5 rebounds, 3 blocks
Maziah Shelton | 5 rebounds, 2 steals

I BEAT THE DEAN: Hannah West & Kaitlin White

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Saturday, Dec. 13 at 12:00 pm
at Carl Sandburg
Galesburg, IL 
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@CarlSandburgCollege/streams