Aurora, Ill. - Coming off their big home conference win against MSOE this past Saturday, the Illinois Tech women's basketball team was looking to build some momentum off that victory when they traveled to Aurora Wednesday night. The Spartans started the game with an 11-3 run and took control of the game early en route to a 96-65 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory. The Scarlet Hawks fell to 8-12 overall and 4-7 in NACC play. The Spartans improved to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in conference.

The Hawks didn't have the services of top scorer and rebounder Chloe Churilla on the evening. Her absence wasn't the reason for the loss, but her presence was missed nonetheless. The Spartans out-rebounded the Hawks 59-26.

Julia Bucci continued her hot shooting from three-point range, leading the team with 16 points while going 4-10 from behind the arc. Kaya Jones added 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Julia Bucci led the Hawks with 16 points while adding 2 rebounds and 2 assists
• Kaya Jones with 13 points, had 3 rebounds and 4 assists
• Camden Joko with 12 points, shooting 4-10 from three-point range, while adding 2 assists and 1 steal
• Berit Rusing with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Rusing also has a strong game from the free-throw line, making 7-8 shots
• Halle Williams with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 assist

Inside The Box Score

• Krystyna Manzanarez of Aurora led all scorers with 21 points while adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists
• Aurora shot 46% from the field; Illinois Tech shot 33%
• A bright spot for the Scarlet Hawks was free-throw shooting - converting on 13-14 from the stripe for 93%

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks continue conference road play this Saturday, when they travel to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to take on the Marian Sabres at 3:30pm in another NACC matchup.