by Eric Willuweit
River Forest, Ill. – Julia Bucci scored 25 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, Kaya Jones had seven points, three rebounds and two steals in overtime, and the Illinois Tech women's basketball team came from behind to defeat Dominican University 85-83 Wednesday night in River Forest. The victory improved the Scarlet Hawks record in NACC play to 2-5 and to 4-9 overall. The Stars dropped to 0-7 in conference, and 1-13 overall.
The Scarlet Hawks rebounded after a sluggish start. They trailed by 14 points halfway through the first quarter, and still trailed at halftime by six points. Points off turnovers helped propel the Hawks to the comeback victory, outpacing Dominican 19-8 in that department.
After losing seven in a row earlier in the season, the Scarlet Hawks have now won three of their last five games.
First Half (Dominican 43 - Illinois Tech 37)
The Scarlet Hawks found themselves in a big hole midway through the first quarter when Dominican hit a pair of free throws at the 5:27 mark to give the Stars a 15-1 lead. Three-pointers by Allie Sillo and Bucci helped cut the deficit to 15-7 and was part of a 12-3 run that closed the gap to 18-13 with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Neither team was able to make a significant run the remainder of the quarter, and each team scored 22 points in the second quarter to enter halftime with Dominican on top. Bucci lead all Hawk scorers with 11 points in the first half, while Chloe Churilla added 10 points.
Second Half (Illinois Tech 34 – Dominican 28)
Early three-pointers by Bucci and Camden Joko cut the Illinois Tech deficit to four points 1:25 into the third quarter. The Stars countered with a three-pointer of their own and a free throw to extend their lead to eight points midway through the quarter. The Scarlet Hawks were able to turn the game around at this point, outscoring the Stars 13-4 the remainder of the quarter and take a 56-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter before Dominican went on a 7-2 run to retake the lead at 69-64 with 2:29 remaining. Dominican led 71-66 with 1:38 remaining, but the Hawks were able to score the final five points of the fourth quarter on a three-pointer by Kaya Jones and a layup by Churilla to tie the score and force the extra frame.
Overtime (Illinois Tech 14 – Dominican 12)
A free throw by Kaya Jones, a steal by Jones and a subsequent jumper by Bucci gave the Scarlet Hawks a 74-71 lead 1:49 into the five-minute overtime period. The Hawks were able to build four-point leads at four different points in the overtime, including at the 30 second mark when Kaya Jones knocked down a three to give the Scarlet Hawks an 82-78 advantage. A Coleman Mackenzie three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining brought the Stars within one point at 82-81. Kaya Jones was able to convert a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining for an 84-81 Hawks lead. Kameron Goodman of Dominican made a jumper with 4 seconds remaining to pull the Stars within one point at 84-83. The Stars were unable to complete their comeback however, as Dominican fouls sent the Scarlet Hawks to the free throw line, with Churilla rebounding a missed Bucci free throw, getting fouled in the process, and converting one of two free throws to give the Scarlet Hawks their final margin for victory, 85-83.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
- Bucci with 25 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 3-8 behind the arc.
- Churilla had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
- Kaya Jones finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
- Joko added 11 points and 7 assists, with only 1 turnover on the evening.
Stars Watch
- Goodman had 18 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
- Toni Hayes finished with 12 points and led all players with 17 rebounds.
- Mariangely Velez added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Inside the Box Score
- The Scarlet Hawks shot 39% from three-point range on 11-28 shooting. The Stars were 5-12 from three-point range for 42%.
- The Scarlet Hawks shot 34% from the field; Dominican shot 44%.
- The Scarlet Hawks held a 32-18 advantage in points from second chance opportunities, along with a 27-19 advantage in bench scoring.
- Dominican had a sizeable advantage in the paint, outscoring the Hawks 50-32.
- Bucci was the minutes leader for the Scarlet Hawks with 39 minutes. Goodman played 40-plus minutes for Dominican.
Up Next
- The Scarlet Hawks continue conference road play when they travel to Mequon, Wisconsin on Saturday to take on the Concordia Wiscsonsin Falcons at 4:15 PM.