Madison Davis connected from three-point range on five occasions (photo credit: Steven Bates, WCS Photography).
Posted: Jan 16, 2018
WYOMING, Mich. - The Illinois Tech women's basketball team hit the road on Tuesday evening for a contest at Grace Bible College in Michigan. Tech hit the 70-point mark for the second straight contest, falling to the Tigers 85-74.
How it Happened
- Grace Bible took an early lead, doubling up the Hawks at 16-8 over the first 5:13. However, the Scarlet Hawks closed the first quarter out on a run. Six straight Shannon O'Donnell points was followed by baskets on Tech's next four possessions, three of which were Madison Davis three-pointers. The scoring burst put Tech ahead 23-20 after one.
- The first seven minutes of the second quarter featured three lead changes and five ties. Grace took the halftime advantage thanks to some great long-range shooting of its own, as the Tigers went into the intermission up 41-37.
- In the third quarter, the Scarlet Hawks cut away at the deficit. Tech was able to tie the score on an Erin Efimoff jumper (50-50, 3:40 left) and another Davis three-pointer (53-53, 3:05), but was unable to sneak past the hosts. A big momentum shift occured over the quarter's final 17 seconds, as the Tigers hit two three-pointers to move from a two-point lead to a 65-57 advantage heading into the fourth.
- Grace built its lead up to 13 early in the last quarter, but the Scarlet Hawks trimmed the lead to seven before both teams hit a long scoring drought of nearly 2:30. The Tigers would break through first, responding by building its lead up to 16 with 3:27 to play at 83-67. Tech would score seven points the rest of the way, but Grace managed to hang on for the win.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
- The dominant freshman campaign of O'Donnell continued. She had 27 points to go along with eight assists and six rebounds, getting to the foul line an impressive 12 times. It was her fifth 20-point day of the season (as well as fourth over her last five games) and the sixth time she attempted double-digit free throws in a game.
- Davis was fantastic from the outside, making five three-pointers en route to 17 points. She also had six rebounds and three steals.
- Efimoff had 15 points on a stellar 7-of-9 shooting night.
Stats to Know
- Shooting percentages were nearly even, with Grace narrowly outshooting Tech 43.8% to 43.3%.
- Rebounds (41-39 Grace) and turnovers (19-20) Tech were also nearly even.
- Grace's biggest advantage was from beyond the arc, as the Tigers hit 15 three-pointers compared to Tech's five (all from Davis).
Up Next
- Tech will play at Robert Morris-Springfield on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.