by Eric Willuweit

Chicago, Ill. – Julia Bucci had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Kaya Jones added 13 points, and the Illinois Tech women's basketball took down Dominican University Wednesday night at the Keating Sports Center, sweeping the season series with the Stars in the process. With the win, the Scarlet Hawks improved to 4-13 in the NACC and 7-17 overall. The Stars fell to 2-15 in conference play and 3-21 overall. 

The Scarlet Hawks shot 40 percent from three-point range on 6-15 shooting, with Jones and Bucci connecting on five from behind the arc. The Hawks bench also outscored Dominican 23-16 on the evening. The Scarlet Hawks overcame a second quarter in which they managed to only score seven points.

"Tonight was the first time all season that we had all 10 of our players healthy and available to play. It was awesome" said Head Coach Carissa Sain. "I'm really happy with how we adjusted out of the half. We started to focus on the controllables and that shift in mindset helped us gain some momentum" Sain continued. "We continue to improve every time we take the floor and, as a coach, that's all you can ask for" said Sain.

First Half (Dominican 32 – Illinois Tech 28)

The Scarlet Hawks opened strong in the first quarter, jumping out to an 8-2 lead just over two minutes into the opening frame. Both teams would struggle scoring over the next three minutes, but the Hawks would outscore the Stars 13-11 over the final five minutes to lead 21-13 heading into the second quarter. 

Scoring continued to be an issue for both teams in the first five minutes of the second quarter, with Dominican outscoring the Scarlet Hawks 5-2 to cut their deficit to 23-18. From there, Dominican used a 9-0 run to take a 27-23 lead with 2:48 remaining in the half. The Hawks used a three-pointer and a layup to retake the lead at 28-27 with 1:21 remaining. But Dominican finished out the first half with a 5-0 run to head into the break leading 32-28. Bucci led the Scarlet Hawks with 12 points in the half.

Second Half (Illinois Tech 33 – Dominican 21)

A layup by Bucci with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter completed a 7-2 run by the Scarlet Hawks, allowing them to retake the lead at 35-34. Dominican could get no closer than one point the rest of the quarter, as the Hawks outscored Dominican 12-7 to close out the 3rd quarter with a 47-41 lead. 

Dominican used a 10-9 push to cut their deficit to five points at 56-51 with 1:32 to play. the Scarlet Hawks countered with a 5-2 run in the closing minute to take the game, 61-53. Bucci again led the Hawks in scoring in the final half with 13 points. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Bucci with 25 points, and 10 rebounds.
• Jones with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
• Chloe Churilla with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, two steals and 1 block.
• Grace Goodnough with 8 points and 4 rebounds.
• Catherine Klemp with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Stars Watch

• Kameron Goodman led the Stars with 25 points, while adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
• Payton Allen added 9 points with 4 assists.
• Mariangely Velez pulled down 13 rebounds to go with 2 steals and 1 block.

Inside the Box Score

• The Scarlet Hawks connected on 11 of 15 free throw attempts, good for 73%. The Stars shot 3 of 14 from the free throw stripe for 21.4%.
• The Scarlet Hawks turned the ball over 18 times; Dominican had 14 turnovers.
• Illinois Tech shot 38% from the field; Dominican shot 33%. 
• Bucci was the minutes leader for the Scarlet Hawks with 32; Goodman led Dominican with 38 minutes played.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks close out their season Saturday afternoon at the Keating Sports Center, when they take on Rockford at 4:15 PM in a NACC matchup on Senior Day.