ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst women's basketball team scored its first CCIW victory of the season with an 86-80 win over Illinois Wesleyan University.
 
Elmhurst upped its overall record to 7-2 while improving to 1-2 in league play. IWU slipped to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the CCIW.
 
The Bluejays led for over 15 minutes of the first half despite the lead changing hands 12 times. The Bluejays led by as many as five points on four separate occasions in the second quarter and carried a 41-36 lead into the locker room after Jasmine Bailey knocked down a three-pointer with less than a minute to play. Elmhurst shot 51.6 percent from the floor (16-of-41) and hit 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from downtown.
 
Elmhurst and Illinois Wesleyan traded buckets for the early part of the third quarter before the Bluejays used a 6-0 run to open up their largest lead of the game at nine points (57-48) with four minutes left in the half. Elmhurst never trailed in the quarter but Illinois Wesleyan closed the quarter with a 10-3 run to pull to within two points (60-58) after three quarters.
 
Illinois Wesleyan grabbed a 65-64 lead early in the fourth after an Ashley Schneider layup highlighted a 7-4 run to start the quarter. Elmhurst quickly responded and grabbed a 69-66 lead after a three-pointer from Kaela Jones. The Bluejays pushed their lead up to seven points after two free throws from Kalia Summerlin with 51 seconds left, but the Titans used five straight points to close to within two points, but Jones hit four free throws in the final seconds to put the game away for the Bluejays.
 
Elmhurst finished the game shooting an impressive 58.8 percent (30-of-51) from the floor. After struggling from three-point range over the last two games, the Bluejays connected on 46.7 percent (7-of-15) of their shots from beyond the arc. The seven three-pointers matched the previous two games combined total of three-pointers. Elmhurst was also solid from the free throw line, hitting 19-of-25 attempts (76.0 percent), including 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter.
 
Jones led the charge for Elmhurst with a team-leading 22 points while shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul line. She added seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks in the victory. Mikaela Eppard added a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds while Summerlin chipped in with 13 points and three assists. Hannah Lipman totaled 10 points while Erika Johnson scored seven.
 
IWU shot 42.9 percent (33-of-77) from the floor, including 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from beyond the arc. Molly McGraw led the Titans in the loss with a game-high 25 points while shooting 10-of-28 from the floor. Rebekah Ehresman added 18 points and eight assists while Amanda Kelly and Schneider scored seven points apiece for the Titans.
 
Elmhurst hosts the University of Wisconsin-Platteville next Saturday, December 17.