Millikin Box Score
DECATUR, Ill. - Meghan Merklein hit the game-winning jumper with seven seconds left on the clock to give the Elmhurst College women's basketball team a 68-67 win over Millikin University. The Bluejays' victory snapped a 33-game losing streak to the Big Blue. The Bluejays' last victory over Millikin came during the 1992-93 season.
Elmhurst (14-10, 7-6 CCIW) closed the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Bluejays pushed their lead up to 14 points early in the second half and led by 11 (58-47) with 6:30 to play before Millikin (12-12, 6-7 CCIW) mounted a rally. A 17-6 run by Millikin over the next five minutes evened the score at 64-all with 1:32 left to play.
A pair of free throws by Lyndsie Long gave the Bluejays a 66-64 lead with 30 seconds to play. Millikin's Tracie Yantis hit a jumper and was fouled with 19 seconds left on the clock. Yantis converted the 3-point play to give Millikin it's first lead of the half with just 19 seconds remaining. After an Elmhurst timeout, Merklein buried the game-winner with just seven seconds left.
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from downtown. Millikin shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, including 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Millikin 40-32. The Bluejays turned 22 Big Blue turnovers into 25 points.
Long led Elmhurst with a game-high 25 points. She added eight rebounds and two steals in the victory. Merklein added a season-high 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Megan Ney added 10 points while Brittany Bobruk totaled seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Yantis totaled 20 points and six rebounds to pace Millikin in the loss. Elise Wildman added 13 points and six boards while Whitney Schwartz totaled 11 points.
The win by Elmhurst moved the Bluejays into sole possession of fourth place in the CCIW standings. The Bluejays can clinch a CCIW Tournament appearance on Tuesday with either a win over Illinois Wesleyan or a loss by North Central.
Elmhurst hosts top-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University on Tuesday, February 24, at 7:30 p.m.
