Fond du Lac, Wis. - Up north in Wisconsin, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks women's basketball team took on the Marian University Sabres in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action. The Hawks (4-18, 3-11) put up a tough fight against the Sabres (7-16, 5-9), but were unable to pull off the victory. The Sabres, who led the entirety of the contest, defeated the Hawks by a final score of 73-60. 

First Half (Marian 35 - Illinois Tech 32)

• After a 7-0 start in favor of the Sabres, the Hawks would record their first basket at the 7:35 mark when Grace Goodnough made a jumper. A 7-1 run by the Sabres extended their lead to 14-3 with 5:46 remaining. A Goodnough layup at 5:32 and a Camden Joko three pointer at 5:00 cut the Sabres lead to six points. The Sabres continued to put up numbers in the first quarter while the Hawks fought to stay within reach. At 1:26, Kaya Jones recorded the last basket of the quarter with a jumper. At the end of the quarter, the Sabres led the Hawks 23-15. 

• The second quarter started off slow, with the only points coming from two free throws by the Hawks at 9:35. Another basket wouldn't be recorded until the 7:21 mark when the Sabres made a jumper to break the scoreless streak. Here, the Sabres led the Hawks 25-17. The Hawks went on to pick up six straight points with Julia Bucci recording a layup and a jumper and Ana Jones making a jumper. This brought the Hawks within two and forced the Sabres to take a timeout with 5:22 remaining. The Sabres built their lead back up to seven points as they led the Hawks 32-25 with 3:32 remaining in the quarter after hitting a three pointer. A three by Joko followed by a jumper from Ryell Sandifer brought the Hawks back within two. The Sabres went on to hit a  three pointer while the Hawks made a layup to make the halftime score 35-32 in favor of the Sabres. 

Second Half (Marian 38 - Illinois Tech 28)

• Coming out of halftime, the Sabres nailed back-to-back three pointers at 8:47 and 8:20. The Hawks then answered with back-to-back three pointers of their own from Kaya Jones and Bucci at 7:47 and 7:28 respectively. A three pointer by the Sabres and a layup by Goodnough for the Hawks made the score 44-40 at the 6:38 mark. A scoreless streak then followed between the two sides as the next basket didn't come until 3:55 remained. At 3:55, the Sabres made a jumper and followed with another at 3:14. A brief scoreless streak followed until K. Jones made a free throw with 1:20 remaining. Goodnough went on to make the final basket of the third quarter at the 1:05 mark. At the end of the quarter, the Sabres led 48-43. 

• Bucci began the fourth quarter with a jumper to bring the Hawks within three before the Sabres went on a 11-2 run to take a 12-point, 59-47 lead. Bucci broke the Sabres run with back-to-back three pointers at 5:42 and 5:15, making the score 59-53. The Sabres then went on another run, this time a 9-1 run to take a 14-point, 68-54 lead. The run lasted between 4:25 and 1:58. Unable to make up the deficit, the Hawks fell to the Sabres by a final score of 73-60 at the final buzzer. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Julia Bucci - 18 points, 7-of-18 from the field, 3-of-8 from three, 1-of-3 from the free throw line, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

• Grace Goodnough - 15 points, 6-of-18 from the field, 3-of-4 from the free throw line, 9 rebounds, 1 block, 3 steals

• Camden Joko - 10 points, 4-of-10 from the field, 2-of-6 from three, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Sabres Standouts

• Leci Brakebush - 15 points, 7-of-14 from the field, 1-of-1 from the free throw line, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block

• McKayla Goebel - 14 points, 5-of-10 from the field, 2-of-5 from three, 2-of-2 from the free throw line, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

• Lyla Bartol - 12 points, 5-of-13 from the field, 2-of-4 from three, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block

• Chelsea King - Double-double, 11 points, 4-of-13 from the field, 3-of-4 from three, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steal

• Imani Ninham, 11 points, 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-5 from three, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Inside the Box Score 

• The Hawks were 23-of-72 (31.9%) from the field, 7-of-23 (30.4%) from three, and 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the free throw line

• The Sabres were 29-of-68 (42.6%) from the field, 12-of-25 (48.0%) from three, and 3-of-3 (100%) from the free throw line

• The Hawks recorded 28 points in the paint while the Sabres recorded 24

• Both teams picked up 14 points off turnovers 

• The Hawks had 12 second chance points

• The Sabres had 12 fast break points

• 10 of the Sabres points came off the bench 

• All five of the Sabres starters recorded double-digit points

Up Next

The Hawks will play in their final road game of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, February 14, against the Alverno College Inferno. The Valentines Day NACC contest will tip-off at 7:00 PM.