Joplin, MO - The fifth-seeded Union Owls (27-2) lived up to their billing, as they dealt the #12-seeded Illinois Central College Women's Basketball team (25-8) an 89-58 loss on Monday night in the Sweet 16 of the NJCAA Division-II Women's Basketball National Tournament. The Cougars trailed 66-53 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Union used a big run in the fourth to break the game open. 

For the game, the Owls held a 51-34 rebounding edge, including 20 offensive caroms that led to 24 points, and a ferocious defense that forced ICC into 22 turnovers to get the win. The loss drops the Cougars into the Seventh Place Bracket, where they will play the loser of Tuesday morning's game between #4 Johnson County and #20 North Platte on Wednesday at 1:00 PM. 

"We competed really well for three quarters," coach Karrie Redeker said, "but we tried to get it all back at once early in the fourth and that led to some uncharacteristic turnovers and allowed Union to put us away. Our team is a resilient group and we'll need every bit of that Wednesday to stay alive in the tournament." 

The Owls' Destiny Bynum-Johnson led all scorers with 35 points, while Hellary De Los Santos had 15 points and 14 rebounds, while two others reached double figures. The Cougars countered with a near double-double from Savannah Orgeron, who had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Lily Luczkowiak had 10 points. 

ICC got off to a good start on two Luczkowiak baskets for a 4-4 tie, but then Union kicked in their defense to hold ICC to just two points over the next seven minutes to take a 19-6 lead. A Madison Jobe trey at the end of the first made the score 19-9 in favor of the Owls. 

The Cougars tightened their defense to start the second quarter, as they limited Union to just one basket in the opening minutes, while Orgeron went to work on the offensive end and scored six points to pull ICC to within 22-15. Jobe's jumper, Addy Engel's five points, and Larissa Taylor's turn-around jumper helped the Cougars stay within striking distance at 33-25, but the Owls closed the half on a run to take a 40-27 halftime lead. 

Addi Swadinsky hit Luczkowiak for a basket, and then Luczkowiak had a putback to bring ICC to within 42-32, but Union went on a run to stretch their lead to 53-35. The Cougars kept on the attack with baskets by Orgeron, Jobe, and free throws from Swadinsky, Orgeron, and Engel, but the Owls stayed ahead at 64-44. Kamryn Heider hit a three-pointer and Swadinsky scored on a layup in the final minute of the third as Union took a 66-49 lead after three. 

An Orgeron free throw on an Owl intentional foul and a trey from Heider (assist Jobe) got the Cougars to within 66-53 at the 9:25 mark and looking for more, but Union shut the door on any type of comeback, going on an 18-0 run to put the game away and send the Cougars to the brink of elimination in the consolation bracket. 

COUGAR STATISTICS
Savannah Orgeron | 19 points, 9 rebounds
Lily Luczkowiak | 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Kamryn Heider | 9 points, 3 3's
Addy Engel | 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Addi Swadinsky | 4 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Larissa Taylor | 4 points, 2 rebounds
Madison Jobe | 4 points, 2 rebounds

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2025 NJCAA Division-II National Tournament
Seventh Place Quarterfinal
vs. #4 Johnson County (31-1) or #20 North Platte (22-12)
Wednesday, March 19th - 1:00 PM CST Tipoff
at Leggett & Platt Athletic Center - Joplin, MO
Watch Live ($) (NJCAA Network)
Listen Live (Free) (Mixlr)
Live Stats (PrestoSports)