CHICAGO, Ill. - The Elmhurst women's basketball team opened the North Park University Tournament with a 53-40 win over Defiance College.

Ten different players scored points for Elmhurst (2-0) in the victory as the Bluejays pulled away from Defiance (0-2) down the stretch in the second half. 

Elmhurst trailed 8-7 after the first quarter, but the Bluejays used a 15-3 run in the second quarter to open up a 22-13 lead. Elmhurst led by as many as 10 points in the quarter and carried a 24-15 lead into the locker room. 

The Bluejays struggled at the start of the third as Defiance scored the first six points and pulled to within three points midway through the third quarter. The Bluejays pushed their lead back to eight points and led 34-28 after three quarters.

Elmhurst opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run  to extend their lead to 13 points with seven minutes remaining. Defiance came no closer than 11 points for the remainder of the game as Elmhurst pulled away for the 13-point win. 

Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the floor, including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from three-point distance. Elmhurst struggled from the foul line, hitting just 2-of-10 attempts. The Bluejays made the most of Defiance's mistakes, converting 26 turnovers into 21 points. 

Kelle Clay led Elmhurst in the win with 11 points and four assists. Courtney O'Donnell chipped in with nine points while Lisa Logan, Kween Jean and Emmy Gryna tallied six points apiece. Logan and Jean pulled down six rebounds apiece in the win. 

Lauren Rogers paced Defiance in the loss, finishing with eight points and six rebounds. Nysha Speed came off the bench to score seven. 

Elmhurst takes on Wittenberg University on Saturday, November 17.