MADISON, Wis. - The Illinois Tech women's basketball team opened the 2017-18 season on Wednesday night at Edgewood College. Despite an impressive collegiate debut for freshman Shannon O'Donnell, the Scarlet Hawks were defeated 78-54 at the hands of a future Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opponent.

How it Happened

• Despite a sloppy first quarter which saw 14 Scarlet Hawk turnovers, Tech was on fire from the floor. The team shot 7-of-9 and had all five starters make at least one field goal, taking a 18-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
• The offense became stagnant for Tech in the second quarter. Tech hit just one field goal attempt while the Eagles were 9-of-21, taking a 39-23 lead into the half.
• In the third quarter, rebounding allowed the Eagles to build the lead, as the host crashed the boards for 21 total rebounds. 
• Tech's offense picked things back up in the fourth. The Scarlet Hawks shot 56.3% from the floor while Margaret Meggers added 10 points. Tech outscored the Eagles 20-19 in the 10 minutes.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• O'Donnell was fantastic in her first collegiate game, scoring 21 points while corralling six rebounds, dishing two assists, and having two steals. She also attempting 14 foul shots.
• Meggers, also playing her first collegiate game, tallied 14 points and shot 7-of-13 from the floor. She also blocked two shots and had two steals.
• Erin Efimoff nearly missed a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Stats to Know

• Tech narrowly shot a higher percentage than Edgewood (36.8% to 36.4%), but the Eagles attempted 20 more shots (77 to 57). 
• Turnovers were a key factor. Tech turned the ball over 31 times compared to Edgewood's 21.
• Edgewood controlled the glass with a 55-39 advantage.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks will trek back to Wisconsin on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. contest at Lakeland University.