by Eric Willuweit

Chicago, Ill. – Julia Bucci had 24 points and 9 rebounds, first-year forward Chloe Churilla recorded her first career double-double with 22 rebounds and 10 points, and the Illinois Tech women's basketball team swept the season series versus Mount Mary, defeating the Blue Angels 70-58 Monday night at the Keating Sports Center in a non-conference matchup. The Scarlet Hawks improved to 6-15 overall. The Blue Angels fell to 6-15. 

The Scarlet Hawks held a 62-43 advantage in rebounds, a big key to the team's success on the evening. The Hawks also took advantage of a deeper bench than Mount Mary, outscoring the Blue Angels 22-7 in that department.

"I'm thrilled for the team tonight to collect a win on such a short turnaround from Saturday" said Head Coach Carissa Sain. "We had to compete with a different type of preparation for this game, and I'm really happy with their collective focus in that way" Sain continued. "We had some really wonderful contributions from everyone during the game that wouldn't necessarily make the stat sheet. We hope to keep stacking more and more of those contributions over these last four games" Sain concluded.

First Half (Illinois Tech 38 – Mount Mary 31)

After Mount Mary opened the game with scoring the first five points, the Scarlet Hawks responded with a vengeance, going off for a 17-0 run to take a 17-5 lead with under four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Mount Mary was able to outscore the Hawks 6-4 over the final minutes of the opening quarter to close their deficit to 21-11. The Scarlet Hawks were able to maintain their momentum in the early part of the second quarter, outscoring the Blue Angels 9-4 to take a 30-15 lead with 6:12 remaining. However, Mount Mary used a 16-8 run to end the second quarter, and cutting their deficit at the break to 7 points. Bucci paced the Hawks with 10 points in the first half, with Churilla pulling down 11 rebounds.

Second Half (Illinois Tech 32 – Mount Mary 27)

Mount Mary continued to close in on the Scarlet Hawks, using a 10-3 run in the third quarter to draw even at 41-41 with 3:40 remaining. The Scarlet Haws and the Blue Angels traded points over the next two and a half minutes before the Hawks closed out the second quarter with a 4-0 run to head into the fourth quarter with a 51-45 lead. A 19-13 run by the Scarlet Hawks closed out the game, providing the 12-point margin of victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Bucci with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. She finished 5-15 from three-point range.
• Churilla with 22 rebounds, 10 points, 3 blocks, 1 steal and 1 assist.
• Camden Joko finished with 10 points, while pacing the team with 7 assists, and adding two steals, 1 block, with only 1 turnover.
• Catherine Klemp pulled down 8 rebounds to go with her 6 points.
• Allie Sillo had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
• Kaya Jones with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Blue Angels Watch

• Skye Giddings led Mount Mary with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
• Deja Rivers added 10 points and 8 rebounds.
• Talesa Campbell with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.

Inside the Box Score

• The Scarlet Hawks continued their improved free-throw shooting, connecting on 9 of 11 for 82%; The Blue Angels shot 56%.
• The Scarlet Hawks turned the ball over 21 times; Mount Mary had 15 turnovers.
• Illinois Tech shot 36% from the field; Mount Mary was held to 29%. 
• Bucci was the minutes leader for the Scarlet Hawks with 35; Giddings and India Lucas each played the entire 40 minutes for Mount Mary.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks go back on the road Wednesday, when they head to Lisle, Ill. for a rematch with NACC foe Benedictine at 7:00 PM.