Chicago, Ill - Julia Bucci had 23 points, Ana Jones pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, and the Illinois Tech women's basketball team claimed their first victory of the season, downing Andrews University 83-36 in the Scarlet Hawks home opener Monday night at the Keating Center. The Scarlet Hawks improved to 1-3 on the season. The Cardinals fell to 0-04.

The Scarlet Hawks took advantage of 29 turnovers by the Cardinals, converting those into 24 points. The Hawks also held a 50-24 advantage in points in the paint.

First Half (Illinois Tech 39 - Andrews 18)
A Kaya Jones fast-break layup with 4:56 remaining in the first quarter helped the Scarlet Hawks jump out to a 10-2 lead. From there, the Hawks used a 12-8 run to close out the first quarter with a 22-10 lead.

The Hawks rode a 17-8 run in the second quarter to head into halftime with a 39-18 lead. Key in the quarter were a pair of three-pointers by Camden Joko and a solo three from Julia Bucci. Bucci led the Hawks with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals in the first half.

Second Half (Illinois Tech 44 - Andrews 18) 
Ana Jones was the story of the third quarter, pulling down 9 rebounds and helping the Scarlet Hawks increase their lead to 59-26 at the end of three. Jones' previous career-high in rebounds in a game was 9.

Illinois Tech closed out the game with a 24-10 fourth quarter outburst, and a 47-point margin of victory. Chloe Churilla had 8 points in the second half to lead the Hawks, with Joko, Bucci and Allie Sillo each adding 6 points in the half. Ana Jones had 12 second half rebounds.  

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Bucci finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.
• Ana Jones with a career-high 16 rebounds, including 6 offensive rebounds.
• Joko with 12 points, including 3 of 6 from three-point range, while leading with 4 assists.
• Kaya Jones added 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
• Chloe Churilla added 11 points.

Cardinals Watch

• Daniella Nau led the Cardinals with 8 points.
• Johana Rivas paced Andrews with 7 rebounds while adding 4 points..

Inside The Box Score

• The Scarlet Hawks held a 21-11 advantage in second-chance points.
• The Hawks never trailed in the game, holding the lead for 38+ minutes.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks head to Colorado Springs, Colorado over Thanksgiving Weekend to compete in the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Colorado College. The Hawks open with the host Tigers on Friday at 2:00 PM CT, and then face Willamette at 2:00 PM CT on Saturday.