(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College women's basketball team improved to 10-15 overall on the season with a 94-48 trouncing of visiting Wilbur Wright College from Chicago. The Chiefs connected on seven three-point shots in the second half and tallied 31 assists as a team on the way to routing the Rams. After a low scoring first quarter the Chiefs booked 27, 26 and 27 points the next three quarters to blow the game open.
Waubonsee jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead after just three minutes of play. The Rams (6-18) got on the board midway through the first quarter and quickly caught up as the Chiefs committed seven turnovers in their next eight possessions. A pull-up jumper in the lane by Brooke Heiman staked Waubonsee to a 12-8 lead with three minutes left in the period, which eventually eventually ended with the Chiefs leading 14-9.
On Waubonsee's first possession of the second quarter Angelina Schlinger sliced through three Rams defenders, dribbled behind her back and through her legs before dishing off to Emily Hurst who scored on a drive to the rim. Heiman then scored inside twice as the Chiefs built a nine-point lead at 22-13. Two minutes later Heiman found Annika Bielskis ahead of the pack and another lay-up for a 31-19 Chiefs' lead. A long three-pointer by Beilski with a minute to go until halftime extended the lead to 36-19. Another triple, this time by Lily Fernandez from the top of the key, helped send Waubonsee to the locker room with a 41-20 advantage.
Bielskis then made another triple a minute into the second half to push the Chiefs' lead to 25 points. Waubonsee extended the lead to 56-27 midway through the third quarter. A break away lay-in by Hurst made the score 60-29 with three minutes remaining in the period as the Chiefs gradually added to their big lead. Fernandez then banked in a long three-pointer from the left wing in the final seconds of the stanza to make it 67-33 heading into the final period.
Another three from the right corner by Fernandez extended the lead to 75-38 a minute into the fourth quarter. Waubonsee led by as many as 38 points midway through the period before Fernandez nailed her fourth trey on the day, Heiman scored from close range, and Fernandez hit another jumper to give Waubonsee an 87-44 lead. Heiman then buried a pair of free throws with a minute to go and Kaila Schlinger, the chiefs' 6'0" center, drilled another triple a moment later to end the scoring.
Heiman led all scorers with 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists. In the process, the Indian Creek High School alumnus passed Mary Schruel's (1980-82) mark of 968 career points to move into second on Waubonsee's all-time scoring list. Heiman is now just 21 points away from joining Julianna Wadsworth (2014-2016) in the Chiefs' 1000-Point Club for her Waubonsee career. Wadsworth, a two-time NJCAA All-American, finished with 1,211 points in a Chiefs uniform. Heiman will look to join her exclusive group this coming Tuesday, February 14 when Waubonsee hosts Prairie State College in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Confernce (ISCC) match-up beginning at 5:15 p.m. in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The Chiefs and Pioneers previously faced each other in Chicago Heights on January 19 with Heiman booking 14 points in Waubonsee's 79-55 victory.
Fernandez finished with 22 points and three steals, while Bielskis added 14 points and handed out five assists. Hurst provided an all-around effort with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Angelina Schlinger chipped in with seven boards, dished out 11 assists and registered four steals. After taking on Prairie State next Tuesday, the Chiefs are set to play in Cicero on Thursday, February 16 against top-ranked Morton College in another ISCC contest beginning at 5:15 p.m., before returning home next Saturday, February 18 to square off against Carl Sandburg College at 1:00 p.m.