by Eric Willuweit

Notre Dame, Ind. – The Illinois Tech women's basketball team started out strong in their non-conference road game at St. Mary's (IN) Thursday night, owning a 20-14 lead after one quarter of play. But the Belles responded by outscoring the Scarlet Hawks 23-9 in the second quarter, en route to their 82-66 victory. The Scarlet Hawks drop to 1-2 on the season. The Belles improved to 3-1 overall.

The St. Mary's size proved to be a tall task for the Scarlet Hawks, as the Belles outrebounded the Hawks 60-37 and had a 46-28 advantage in points in the paint.

First Half (St. Mary's 37 – Illinois Tech 29)

St. Mary's held an early 7-2 lead two minutes into the first quarter, but an 8-2 run by the Scarlet Hawks gave them a 10-7 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter. The Belles forged a tie at 11-11, but the Hawks outscored St. Mary's 9-3 to close out the first quarter leading 20-14. Julia Bucci led Hawk scorers in the opening quarter with five points.

The Belles fought back in the second quarter, opening with a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead just over a minute in. The two teams traded points for the next several minutes before a jumper by the Belles put them out front 29-27 with 3:52 remaining in the quarter. The Belles would close out the half with an 8-2 run to take a 37-29 halftime lead. Bucci added three points in the second quarter.

Second Half (St. Mary's 45 – Illinois Tech 37)

The Scarlet Hawks mounted a comeback in the third quarter, pulling within two points at 43-41 midway through the period. The Hawks would get no closer however, as the Belles finished the quarter with a 23-8 run to take a 66-49 lead heading into the final quarter. Deriniece Moton and Chloe Churilla each had five points in the quarter.

The Belles extended their lead to 21 points on a jumper at 8:32 of the final quarter. The Scarlet Hawks would pull within 14 points on three separate occasions, the last on a jumper with 3:26 remaining to trail 76-62. But the Hawks could not get any closer, as the Belles closed out the game with a 6-4 run for the final score margin of victory, 82-66. Bucci and Churilla paced the Hawks with five points each in the final frame.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Bucci paced the Scarlet Hawks with 17 points while adding 6 rebounds.
• Moton had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
• Churilla added 14 points and led the Hawks with 9 rebounds.

 Belles Watch

• Maddie Rzepka led St. Mary's with 18 points.
• Athena Samson added 12 points and 14 rebounds.

 Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks shot 24% from three-point range on 6-25 shooting. The Belles shot 25% from three on 3-12 shooting. 
• The Scarlet Hawks shot 33.8% from the field; St. Mary's shot 45.9%
• Illinois Tech committed 18 fouls; the Belles had 20 fouls.
• Illinois Tech was 10-19 from the free-throw line for 53%. St. Mary's was 11-18 (61%).
• Moton was the minutes leader for the Hawks with 33 minutes. Nikki Murphy played 29 minutes for the Belles.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks make their home debut for the 2022-23 season when they take on Monmouth College in a non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM at the Keating Sports Center.