Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech women's basketball team was looking to build off their first win of the season from last Saturday when they took on the University of Hartford Wednesday afternoon in a pre-Thanksgiving non-conference matchup at the Keating Center. Playing short-handed with several guards unavailable, the game still came down to the final seconds, but the Scarlet Hawks comeback effort fell just short, as Hartford came away with a 61-59 victory. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 1-4 overall, while Hartford secured their first win of the season to improve to 1-4.

With three seconds remaining in the game and the Scarlet Hawks trailing 61-58, Julia Bucci was fouled outside the three-point line, setting up three free throws for Bucci. After missing the first attempt and converting on the second attempt, Bucci's best option on the final attempt was to intentionally miss the third attempt to give the Scarlet Hawks a chance to get the rebound and a put-back shot attempt. Unfortunately the missed attempt was rebounded by Hartford, and they were able to eventually run out the clock and head back home with their first victory of the season.

Still, the Scarlet Hawks came away with positives from the contest. Sophomore Berit Rusing continued her rising performance, scoring a career-high 17 points on 8-14 shooting from the field. Rusing has now scored in double figures in three consecutive games. First-year Miabella Spica took advantage of the increased playing time to score a career-high 8 points, converting on 4-5 shots from the field. Junior Chloe Churilla reached double figures in scoring for her third consecutive game with her 10 points. And senior Julia Bucci found her three-point stroke, converting on 3-6 from behind the line and scoring a season-high 12 points. 

How It Happened

• 1st Quarter - Hartford 13 - Illinois Tech 12: A pair of Churilla free throws gave the Scarlet Hawks a 7-2 lead with 7:14 remaining in the opening quarter. But a Kristen Trembley three-pointer with 2:57 remaining capped off a 10-2 run by Hartford, giving them a 12-9 lead. With just over a minute remaining, Rusing split a pair of free throws to pull the Scarlet Hawks within one point at the end of the quarter.
• 2nd Quarter - Illinois Tech 15 - Hartford 14: A Rusing jumper followed by a pair of free throws from Churilla gave the Scarlet Hawks a 16-13 lead at 8:05 in the second quarter. Hartford would respond with an 11-0 run to take a 24-16 lead with 5:10 remaining. Illinois Tech would battle back down the stretch, however, outscoring Hartford 12-3 to take a 28-27 halftime lead. Rusing led the Scarlet Hawks in scoring in the opening half with 11 points.
• 3rd Quarter - Hartford 22 - Illinois Tech 17: With the teams playing even for the first six minutes of the third quarter, Hartford used a 9-4 run to open a 49-43 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the quarter. Bucci would cut the Scarlet Hawks deficit to 49-45 with a jumper with three seconds remaining.
• 4th Quarter - Illinois Tech 14 - Hartford 12: The Scarlet Hawks would cap off an 11-7 run at the 4:46 mark of the fourth quarter when Spica scored on a tip-in layup to tie the game at 56. A three-pointer by Hartford's Lauren Sabia at 3:22 gave Hartford a 59-56 lead. The Scarlet Hawks' Grace Goodnough would answer back, however, scoring on a layup 18 seconds later to pull Illinois Tech within one point at 59-58. Hartford's Ella Marchesani would hit a jumper coming out of a timeout to push their lead back up to three points, setting up the three point foul shots for Bucci that closed out the game in Hartford's favor. Rusing, Bucci, Goodnough and Spica each had 6 points in the second half for Illinois Tech.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Berit Rusing with a career-high 17 points on 8-14 shooting, to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal
• Julia Bucci with a season-high 12 points, including 3-6 from three point range, to go along with 6 rebounds
• Chloe Churilla with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal
• Miabella Spica with a career-high 8 points on 4-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in a career-high 21:37 minutes played
• Grace Goodnough with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal

Inside The Box Score

• Hartford was led by Ella Marchesani with 14 points. Lauren Sabia added 13 points
• Points in the paint were even at 28-28
• The Scarlet Hawks had a 9-2 advantage in second-chance points
• Hartford's bench outscored Illinois Tech 29-11

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will open conference play in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) next Saturday, December 7th, when they host Concordia University Wisconsin at 1:00 PM at the Keating Center.