Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College women's basketball team dropped its CCIW opening contest to Millikin University, falling to Big Blue 68-59 at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst fell to 5-7 overall with the loss while Millikin won its seventh straight game and improved to 9-3 overall in the process.

Millikin led 24-23 with four minutes to play in the opening half before closing the half on a 10-0 run to open up a 34-23 lead at the break.

The Big Blue pushed its lead up to 13 points in the second half before Elmhurst mounted a late comeback. The Bluejays sliced a 10-deficit down to just six points with 2:40 remaining, but Millikin hit key buckets and finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line in the final minutes to put the game out of reach.

Megan Ney totaled 17 points, seven rebounds, and five steals to pace the Bluejays in the loss. Kim Schwerdtmann came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points and grab six rebounds. Meghan Merklein added 11 points for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor while struggling from three-point range for the second straight game. The Bluejays hit just 1-of-14 attempts (7.1 percent) from downtown and are a combined 1-of-29 over the past two games.

Playing in her first game with the Big Blue since transfering in December, Heather Pruemer came off the bench to score a team-leading 20 points while shooting 9-of-12. Julie Robert added 14 points while Elise Wildman recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Millikin shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the floor, including 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from beyond the arc.

Elmhurst travels to Augustana College on Saturday, January 8.