PLYMOUTH, Wis. -- The Illinois Tech women's basketball team dropped a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game against Lakeland, 69-26, Wednesday.

The Scarlet Hawks (0-23, 0-19 NACC) were unable to overcome a slow start against the Muskies (19-5, 15-4 NACC) at Woltzen Gymnasium Wednesday evening.

How It Happened

• Lakeland took the early lead 16-4 after the first quarter.
• The Muskies expanded on that lead to 35-16 at halftime as Lakeland outscored the Scarlet Hawks 19-12 in the second quarter.
• Lakeland clamped down more on defense in the second half, holding Illinois Tech to just 18% shooting from the field.
• Illinois Tech, who was looking for some late-game magic but Lakeland had other plans outscoring the Scarlet Hawks 15-6 in the final period. 

Scarlet Hawks Standouts

• Erin Efimoff led Illinois Tech in scoring for the night, adding 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
• Shannon O'Donnell was a force on the boards again for the Scarlet Hawks, pulling down 11 boards.
• Erin Nelson also helped on the glass, picking up seven rebounds.

Up Next

• Illinois Tech returns to action Saturday, February 16 as the Scarlet Hawks host their regular season finale as they take on Rockford University starting at 2:00 p.m. CT.
• Live audio, video, and stats will be available for finale, with the live audio powered by Illinois Media School.