Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College women's basketball team held off a late rally from Edgewood College to score a 69-67 victory in the Bluejays' season debut.

Elmhurst (1-0) opened up a 16-point (55-39) lead midway through the second half before Edgewood (0-1) mounted a rally.  The Eagles chipped the Bluejays lead down to five points with 5:15 left to play, but a 5-0 run by the Bluejays pushed Elmhurst's lead back to double digits with 4:41 remaining on the clock.

A 7-0 run by Edgewood cut Elmhurst's lead down to just three points with 2:18 to play. Rashida Joiner hit a pair of free throws to give the Bluejays a 68-63 lead with just under two minute remaining. 

After a pair of free throws from Brianna Droessler knocked Elmhurst's lead back down to three, the Bluejays missed three attempts on offense. A pair of Melanie Walker free throws sliced Elmhurst's lead down to just one point with 33 seconds left on the clock. A missed lay-up by the Bluejays gave Edgewood the ball with 25 seconds remaining. The Eagles played for one shot, but a turnover gave Elmhurst a breakaway. Joiner was fouled from behind and hit her first free throw to put the Bluejays up 69-67 with four seconds remaining. Joiner missed her second free throw attempt but Maggie McTeague grabbed the loose ball and the Bluejays ran out the clock for the win.

Four Bluejays reached double figures in scoring. Lyndsie Long led Elmhurst with a team-high 19 points. She added seven rebounds in the victory. Ceejay Harris and Meghan Merklein added 13 points apiece while Joiner finished with 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

Droessler led Edgewood with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Shae Beckwith added 11 points while Hannah Schultz finished with 10 points and eight boards.

Elmhurst shot 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the floor and 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from downtown. The Bluejays shot only 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the charity stripe.

Edgewood finished the contest shooting 38.0 percent (19-of-50) from the field, including 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from beyond the arc. The Eagles scored over a third of their points from the free throw line, hitting 26-of-35 attempts (74.3 percent) from the charity stripe.

Elmhurst won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Edgewood 48-36.

The Bluejays take on Coe College in the first-round of the University of Chicago Tournament on Saturday, November 21.