Illinois Wesleyan Box Score
ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College women's basketball team's bid to upset top-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University fell just short, as the Bluejays fell 81-75 to the Titans.
The loss dropped Elmhurst to 14-11 overall and 7-7 in the CCIW. The Bluejays season came to a close when North Central College defeated Millikin University to earn the tiebreaker for the fourth and final spot in the CCIW Tournament.
The first 25 minutes of the contest belonged to the Bluejays. Elmhurst shot a whopping 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the floor and raced out to a 16-point advantage. Illinois Wesleyan (25-0, 14-0 CCIW) managed to pull to within 14 points (38-24) at halftime.
Elmhurst quickly pushed its lead up to 20 points (52-32) with 15:30 to play in the second half. Illinois Wesleyan started chipping away at the Bluejays' lead. An 8-0 run by the Titans cut Elmhurst's lead down to just 12 points with 12:30 left. Meghan Merklein knocked down a jumper to push the Bluejays' lead back to 14 points, but the Titans responded with a 7-0 run to pull to within five with nine minutes remaining.
A lay-up by Lyndsie Long gave the Bluejays a 58-51 lead with just under nine minutes to play, but once again the Titans had an answer. IWU used an 18-2 run over the next 5:30 to build a 69-60 lead with just 3:30 left on the clock. The Titans pushed their lead to as many as 11 points and hung on for the 81-75 win.
Illinois Wesleyan tightened up its full court press in the second half, resulting in 18 Elmhurst turnovers. The Titans capitalized on Elmhurst's mistakes, turning the turnovers into 27 points. Illinois Wesleyan outscored Elmhurst 57-37 in the second half.
Elmhurst finished the game shooting 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the floor, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from downtown. Illinois Wesleyan shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field, including 61.8 percent (21-of-34) in the second half.
Long led Elmhurst with 27 points in the loss. She scored 23 in the second half after playing only four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Merklein poured in a career-high 22 points and added 12 rebounds to lead Elmhurst in the loss. Brittany Bobruk added 12 points and eight rebounds while Kelsey Monroe scored eight points.
Christina Solari and Stacey Arlis scored 16 points apiece to pace the Titans. Solari also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and totaled six assists and five steals. Claire Sheehan added 14 points while Mallory Heydorn scored 13. Hope Schulte finished with 10 points for the Titans.
