Port Huron, MI - Hannah West and Ellie VanMeenen combined for 42 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead the #20 Illinois Central College women's basketball team to a 70-62 win over #14 Lansing on Friday evening at the Thumbcoast Classic at SC4 Fieldhouse. The win advances the Cougars to Saturday's championship game where they will face #8 Harcum (PA) in a 4pm CST contest.

West (22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and VanMeenen (20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) steadied the squad while Lexi Meyer added 11 points and 4 assists and Andrea Glenn just missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 boards. Malorie Harris and Michaela Pilgrim each had 9 rebounds, while Shonti Ayres had 5 caroms.

"What a tough performance," coach Karrie Redeker said. "Our kids were locked in defensively all night, helping overcome the turnover bug. We always focused on making the next play and showed a level of trust in each other that we hadn't displayed yet this season, so that was good to see. And Hannah and Ellie stayed composed and showed great leadership down the stretch which was a key to the victory."

The Cougars held a 50-40 rebounding edge while the defense held the Stars to 32% field goal shooting to help overcome the 23 turnovers. ICC went 17-22 from the charity stripe (77%) for the game and shot well when it mattered most, going 6-9 (67%) from the field in the final stanza. 

ICC led from start-to-finish thanks to early treys from VanMeenen and Glenn along with an old-fashioned three-point play from West for a 16-9 lead. Glenn's "and-one" gave ICC a 21-14 first quarter advantage.

Lansing tightened their defense to start the second, holding ICC scoreless for seven straight possessions to go on a 6-0 run but a VanMeenen score stopped the drought at the 5:42 mark. Harris hit Meyer for a layup and West nailed back-to-back treys (assists VanMeenen) as the Cougars took a 32-26 lead into intermission.

The Cougars increased their lead to a dozen at 44-32 as West had another three-point play to go along with a Pilgrim putback and another VanMeenen triple with four minutes left in the third. The Stars went on a 9-2 run to close the gap until a Meyer steal and layup gave ICC a 49-41 lead going into the final stanza.

VanMeenen opened the fourth period with two treys for a 59-48 lead, and after LCC pulled to within 59-54, the Cougars held the Stars scoreless for eight straight possessions while Meyer and West scored for a 63-54 lead with two minutes to play. West and VanMeenen added the finishing touches from the line, going 6-6 to close out the game.

LEADERS FOR THE COUGARS
Hannah West | 22 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl
Ellie VanMeenen | 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast
Lexi Meyer | 11 pts, 4 ast
Andrea Glenn | 10 pts, 9 reb
I BEAT THE DEAN: Hannah West

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Saturday, November 14
at Thumbcoast Classic, Port Huron, MI 
vs. #8 Harcum (PA)
4:00 pm CST 
Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmY8-bnnUtSSRJS_VM4OCcg