(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College and Moraine Valley Community College battled back and forth before the Chiefs prevailed 88-82 in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) women's basketball contest on Tuesday evening. Waubonsee (9-14, 5-4) made 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and 25 of 32 from the line for the game to pull out the victory. The tightly contested game featured five ties and seven lead changes as the Chiefs made amends for a 64-54 loss to the Cyclones in Palos Hills back on January 12.
After the Cyclones (11-13, 4-5) controlled the opening trip and scored on their first possession, the Chiefs responded with baskets by Brooke Heiman and Ashleigh Wackerlin to begin a 10-2 run over the next three minutes of play. Moraine Valley got to the free throw line several times and worked their way back into the game taking a 14-13 lead on a three-pointer by Aden Edebali. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter which ended with Moraine Valley holding a 24-23 lead. The Cyclones, paced by Edebali's 13 points, made 7 of 12 free throws in the first 10 minutes of play.
The Cyclones took a five-point lead before a three-pointer by Lily Fernandez and a lay-up by Heiman knotted the score at 31 three minutes into the second quarter. Midway through the period the Chiefs' defense got a shot clock violation and Annika Beilskis followed with a rainbow trey to put Waubonsee in front 37-35. Another triple by Beilskis with a minute to go until halftime put the Chiefs ahead by four points. After a basket by Moraine Valley in the waining seconds of the half, Angelina Schlinger was then fouled with just 0:00.3 remaining sending her to the foul line. The Chiefs' sophomore point guard nailed both foul shots to head to the locker room with a 47-42 lead.
The Cyclones started the third quarter with a 5-1 run before Emily Hurst slashed through the visitor's defense for a lay-up to make it 50-47 three minutes into the second half. A three-pointer by Fernandez helped Waubonsee extend its' lead to 60-51 midway through the quarter. Moraine Valley got within a point before the Chiefs built their lead back up to five points on a driving lay-in by Hurst with a minute left in the period. Waubonsee maintained a five-point cushion heading into the final quarter with a 67-62 lead.
A cross-over dribble and fade away 18-foot jumper by Schlinger put the Chiefs ahead 69-65 early in the fourth period. However, a long three-pointer by the Cyclones' Janiyah Hilliard tied the game at 72 with six minutes to go. Fernandez answered with a triple of her own from the top of the key on the ensuing trip down the court to put the Chiefs back in front. A steal and breakaway lay-up by Edebali cut Waubonsee's lead to 79-76 with three and a half minutes remaining in regulation. Moraine Valley cut the lead to one point with two minutes to go before Heiman was fouled with 1:20. The sophomore made one of two free throws for an 82-80 Chiefs' lead.
Hurst then grabbed a rebound at the other end and was fouled. The freshman calmly sank both charity tosses to extend Waubonsee's lead to four points. A traveling violation by the Cyclones with 0:31 left gave the Chiefs the ball back once more. Heiman was then fouled and buried two more free throws to make it 86-80 in favor of Waubonsee with 0:27 to go. After another Moraine Valley misfire Hurst snagged the board and was fouled again, drilled two more foul shots with 0:14 to put the game out of reach as Waubonsee made 7 of 8 foul shots over the final 90 seconds of the contest.
For the fifth straight game Heiman and Hurst each booked 20 or more points. Heiman, finished with 24 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists. Hurst tallied 20 points and snagged eight boards, while connecting on all six of her foul shots. Schlinger added 12 points, seven boards and handed out eight assists. Fernandez chipped in with 12 points and Beilskis contributed 10 points. Edebali, a native of Ankara, Turkey, led all scorers with 25 points before fouling out in the final minute of the game. However, the sophomore forward was limited to just 12 points over the last 30 minutes of the game with Fernandez guarding her for much of the time.
Waubonsee travels to McHenry County College for another ISCC battle on Thursday, February 9 to square off against the Scots in Crystal Lake. The Chiefs then return home on Saturday, February 11 for an afternoon matinee against Wright College from Chicago with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The men's game is set to follow starting at 3:00 p.m.