DECATUR, Ill. - The Elmhurst women's basketball team outscored Millikin by 15 points in the second quarter en route to an 88-73 road victory over the Big Blue.

With the victory, Elmhurst upped its record to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the CCIW while Millikin slipped to 7-7 overall and fell to 0-3 in league play.

A Mikaela Eppard jumper three minutes into the first quarter of action put Elmhurst in front 9-8 and the Bluejays did not trail for the remainder of the contest. Leading by just one with 2:32 left in the first, the Bluejays scored seven straight points to build an eight-point advantage. Elmhurst carried a 29-23 lead into the start of the second quarter. 

Elmhurst broke things open in the second, opening the period on a 15-2 run to grab a 44-25 lead. The Bluejays pushed their cushion up to 22 points after an Erika Johnson jumper and led 51-30 at the half. The Bluejays shot a red-hot 62.5 percent (20-of-32) in the opening half and was a perfect 6-of-6 from downtown. 

Millikin mounted a rally late in the third quarter to slice into Elmhurst's lead. The Bluejays' led 68-49 with 3:24 left, but the Big Blue rattled off the next eight points to cut Elmhurst's lead down to 11. A bucket from Hannah Henderson gave Elmhurst a 70-57 lead after three quarters.

The Bluejays held Millikin at bay for the fourth quarter, never allowing the Big Blue to come any closer than an 11-point deficit en route to the 15-point victory.

Elmhurst enjoyed its best shooting night of the season, setting season-highs from the floor, beyond the arc and from the foul line. The Bluejays finished the contest hitting 33-of-58 attempts from the field to shoot a season-high .569. Elmhurst was equally impressive from downtown, knocking down 8-of-12 attempts to shoot a season-high .667. Elmhurst was nearly perfect from the foul line, hitting 14-of-15 to shoot a season-high .933.  

Millikin had no answer for Mikaela Eppard. The Elmhurst sophomore scored a game-high 25 points, shooting 11-of-15 from the floor while also totaling a game high eight rebounds and five assists. Claire Monroe pumped in 15 points and dished out four assists, shooting 5-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Erika Johnson and Kaela Jones both reached double figures in scoring in the win. Johnson scored 13 while Jones added 12 points. Henderson totaled a season-high nine points and nine assists in the victory.

Millikin shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field, but struggled from long distance, hitting just 2-of-12 attempts (16.7 percent). Alyssa Saklak led the Big Blue in the loss with a team-best 18 points while shooting 8-of-12 from the floor. Kelsey Going added 17 points while Cassie Somers scored nine. 

The Bluejays host Carthage College on Wednesday, January 13, at 7:00 p.m.