Box Score Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College women's basketball team won its fourth straight contest by downing Alma College 61-43 at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst improved to 8-1 with the victory while Alma slipped to 2-7 on the season.

Elmhurst opened the game with a 16-0 scoring run while Alma started the game ice cold from the floor. The Scots missed their first 16 shots of the game and went without a point for over 13 minutes. The Bluejays led 29-14 at the break.

The Bluejays opened the second half with a 18-8 run for the first eight minutes, building a 25-point cushion in the process. The Scots managed to chip the lead down to 14 points with six minutes to play, but came no closer as the Bluejays hung on for an 18-point victory.

Meghan Merklein dropped in a game-high 22 points to lead the Bluejays in the win. Merklein shot 7-of-14 from the floor and hit all eight of her free throws while also pulling down a team-leading nine rebounds. Tess Godhardt chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds while Devin Vaughn added 10 points. Megan Ney contributed eight rebounds while Fiona McMahon came off the bench to grab seven boards.

Alma was led by Mallory Pruett's 11 points. Mary Schlicher came off the bench to score 10 points for the Scots.

Elmhurst finished the game shooting 46.8 percent (22-of-47) from the floor, including 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from three-point range. Alma shot 27.1 percent (16-of-59) from the field and 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from beyond the arc. The Scots also struggled at the foul line, hitting only 8-of-17 attempts (47.1 percent).

Elmhurst continues its seven-game home stand on Monday, December 19, by hosting Edgewood College at 7:00 pm.