Lady Blues Pummel Vikings, Increasing MWC Win Streak To Four

APPLETON, WIS. - The Illinois College women's basketball team traveled to Lawrence University for a Midwest Conference rematch decision Saturday afternoon. The Lady Blues extend their win streak to four games after defeating the Vikings by the final score of 67-51. With the victory, IC currently stands at 13-9 overall and in third place in the MWC standings with a 8-5 in conference record.     

IC opened the game on a 7-3 run that started on back-to-back baskets by Ashlyn Wightman as Anna McKee added a deep three-point basket. Lawrence countered with a 9-0 run that eventually ended the quarter that made the score 7-12.

The Lady Blues began the second quarter on a 6-0 run that included three free-throws from Kendra Bass and another three-point basket from McKee for the 13-12 advantage. After a basket from LU's Nikola Kuzmanovic, IC erupted for a 13-0 run as Jayln Patterson scored ten consecutive points that was capped on a Brooklyn Stiefel three-point basket for the 26-14 lead. For the final minute of the first half, IC and Lawrence exchanged baskets as the Lady Blues outscored the Vikings 22-6 in the quarter that took the 29-18 advantage into the break.   

IC started the second half on a 7-3 run included a pair of free-throws from Maya Smith and Patterson as Bass added a three-point basket for the 36-21 lead. Midway through the third, IC extended its lead to 18 at 47-29 with a 7-0 run that included back-to-back three-point baskets from Smith and McKee as McKee added the final point of the run with a free-throw. The Lady Blues and Vikings swapped baskets for the remainder of the quarter as IC took the 53-36 advantage heading into the fourth. 

The Lady Blues extended its lead to 22 at 58-36 by starting the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run with back-to-back baskets from McKee and Wightman. The Vikings chipped back in the contest with a 10-2 run that cut the lead down to 60-46 with 4:14 remaining on the clock. IC's Smith scored the final five-of-seven points for IC from the free throw-line with a Bass lay-in that extended the win streak to four games.        

For the game, IC had FOUR student-athletes achieve double-digit scoring marks led by Smith with 14 points as she went nine-of-10 from the free-throw line. McKee contributed 13 points while adding a career and team-high five steals off the bench. Patterson collected her third consecutive game with double-digit scoring by contributing 12 points in 18 minutes of action. Bass secured her sixth straight double-figure scoring game by adding 11 points. 

Wightman led IC in rebounding as she hauled down seven while Stiefel dished out a team-high four assists.   

The Lady Blues will travel to Grinnell College on Wednesday, February 7 at 7:30PM for a rematch decision in Grinnell, Iowa.