Eureka, Ill. – For their last road contest before the new year, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's basketball team traveled two and a half hours outside of Chicago to take on the Eureka College Red Devils in non-conference action. Both teams entered the contest looking to get back into the win column as the Hawks have dropped their last two games and the Red Devils fell in their match contest. With three players recording double-digits, the Hawks (2-5) came out on top, defeating the Red Devils (3-4) 70-60.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

First Quarter: Illinois Tech 19 – Eureka 12 

A Grace Goodnough 3-pointer at the 8:53 mark began the game between the Hawks and Red Devils. With action underway, much of the first quarter would go by with neither team recording a basket between 7:12 and 4:58. Miabella Spica broke the scoreless streak with a layup to put the Hawks ahead 7-6. After allowing a Red Devil layup, the Hawks went on a 10-0 run to take a 17-8 lead with 2:52 remaining in the quarter. The Red Devils would cut the lead some, but the Hawks remained on top, leading 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.  

Second Quarter: Illinois Tech 12 – Eureka 22 

Second quarter action went in favor of the home team. Goodnough recorded the first basket of the quarter with a jumper before the Red Devils went on an 11-0 run to take a 23-21 lead with 6:47 on the clock. After a very brief back-and-forth, Allie Sillo and Camden Joko hit back-to-back threes to put the Hawks ahead 29-25 with 4:18 remaining in the quarter. A scoreless streak followed, with the next basket not coming until the 1:52 mark in favor of the Red Devils. From there, the Red Devils closed out the quarter with a 7-2 run, taking a 34-31 lead at halftime over the Hawks.  

Third Quarter: Illinois Tech 18 – Eureka 8 

It would be a slow start coming out of halftime as neither side recorded a basket until Chloe Churilla stepped up to the free throw line at 7:50 and cut the score within one point. Then, at 7:5, Churilla tied the contest at 34-34 with another made free throw. From there, the two sides went back-and-forth until two free throws by Kaya Jones put the Hawks ahead 41-40 with 2:49 remaining. Jones' two made free throws was the start of a 10-2 run by the Hawks to close out the quarter. After holding the Red Devils to just eight points, the Hawks led at the end of the third quarter 49-42.   

Fourth Quarter: Illinois Tech 21 – Eureka 18 

An 8-2 run propelled the Hawks to a 13-point, 57-44 lead over the Red Devils to begin the fourth quarter. This would mark the Hawks largest lead of the night. For the remainder of the night, the Hawks stayed ahead of the Red Devils. The closest the home team would get was with 4:39 remaining in the game when a layup brought them within seven points. Not wanting to back down, the Hawks continued to fight offensively to hold their lead, and in the end, it paid off. After two made free throws by the Red Devils at 1:04, neither side would go on to record another basket, resulting in a 10-point, 70-60 win for the Hawks.  

SCARLET HAWK STANDOUTS 

• Berit Rusing – 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal 

• Julia Bucci – 12 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals 

• Camden Joko – 12 points, 2 assists 

• Grace Goodnough – 9 points, 10 rebounds 

• Miabella Spica – 2 points, 1 assist, 4 steals 

RED DEVILS' STANDOUTS 

• Maxine Najera – Double-double, 11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block 

• Elena Redgate – 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal 

• Brin Hultz – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Illinois Tech went 23-of-54 (42.6%) from the field, 9-of-20 (45.0%) from three, and 15-of-23 (65.2%) from the free throw line 

• Eureka went 26-of-81 (32.1%) from the field, 2-of-17 (11.8%) from three, and 6-of-13 (46.2%) from the free throw line 

• Both teams recorded 12 points off turnovers 

• The Red Devils had 30 points come from the bench 

• The Hawks had 11 fast break points 

• In total, there was 6 lead changes and 4 ties 

UP NEXT 

The Hawks will turn around and be back in action tomorrow, December 12th, when they host Maranatha Baptist University inside the Keating Sports Center. The non-conference contest will tip-off at 6:00 PM.