East Peoria, Ill. - The Illinois Central College women's basketball team used a big fourth quarter run to pull away from Lake Land by a score of 87-56 on Thursday night in the Region 24 semifinals to advance to Saturday's Region 24 championship. The Cougars will host Lincoln Land in a 1:00 pm tip-off in Ramsey Gym.

Lily Luczkowiak led with 17 points and 5 rebounds and Maziah Shelton had a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds. Ellie VanMeenen scored a career-high 16 points along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists while Larissa Taylor added 10 points and 5 rebounds for ICC.

"This was a battle," coach Karrie Redeker said. "We were a little tentative early but our defensive and rebounding efforts kept us in it until we got settled in. We also battled early foul trouble but got great play from our bench which was huge. This was a total team effort." 

The Cougars opened a 7-4 lead before the defense went to work, holding Lake Land scoreless the final 3:20 of the quarter while Shelton, VanMeenen, and A'Meah Lester each scored for a 15-11 lead after one.

Lake Land started the second period with a 6-0 run but a VanMeenen triple (assist Emily Dana) and Hannah West layup gave ICC a 23-19 lead midway through the period. Taylor scored six straight points putting ICC up 29-23 and took momentum into the half when VanMeenen chased down an offensive rebound and passed to Shelton who hit Lester at the top of the key for a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer sounded for a 37-29 lead.

ICC opened the third with a VanMeenen runner and Luczkowiak layup (assist Kam Heider) to go ahead 43-33 but LLC stayed on the attack and pulled to within 48-44. With Lake Land threatening, VanMeenen hit a huge pull-up jumper that ignited a run as Taylor then scored inside and West and Dana nailed back-to-back treys in the final minute for a 58-49 lead heading into the fourth. 

The Cougar defense held Lake Land to 3-11 field goal shooting which allowed them to get easier buckets on the offensive end and get the win.

LEADERS FOR THE COUGARS
Lily Luczkowiak | 17 pts, 5 reb
Maziah Shelton | 16 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast
Ellie VanMeenen | 16 pts, 4 reb
Larissa Taylor | 10 pts, 5 reb
I BEAT THE DEAN: Ellie VanMeenen & Piper Whiteman

Region 24 Tourney Semifinal Results
Illinois Central 87, Lake Land 56
Lincoln Land 60, Parkland 59

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Region 24 Championship
Saturday, March 5
vs. Lincoln Land at 1:00 pm
Ramsey Gym, East Peoria
***Champion earns automatic bid to NJCAA DII WBB National Tournament on March 16-21 in Hickory, NC
Livestream: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/il/east-peoria/organization/55914/illinois-central-col/
Audio: https://icc-womens-basketball.mixlr.com/