Champaign, Ill. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team traveled to the University of Illinois for a rematch from a season ago against the Fighting Illini on Sunday afternoon. The Illini came away with a 100-28 victory over the Dolphins, sending Le Moyne to 1-6 on the season.
Sophomore guard Eli Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Ocean Township) led Le Moyne with eight points on 3-7 shooting from the field, including the team's only two three-pointers of the game. E. Clark added two rebounds and tied junior forward Sydney Postell (Churchville, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) with a team-high two assists.
Freshman guards Peyton Dincher (Jersey Shore, Pa. / Jersey Shore) and Kayden Clark (Oakhurst, N.J. / Manasquan) along with junior guard Jessica Wangolo (Ottawa, O.N. / Capital Courts Academy / Buffalo) sat behind E. Clark with four points apiece against the Illini. Dincher and K. Clark went a combined 4-11 from the field while Wangolo shot a perfect 4-4 from the line.
Senior guard Sierra Linnin (Valley Cottage, N.Y. / Albertus Magnus) led the 'Phins with five rebounds and added one assist in 24 minutes on the court.
As a team, Le Moyne shot 22.9% (11-48) from the field, 9.1% (2-22) from deep, and 100.0% (4-4) from the line. They added six points off turnovers with 10 bench points while turning the ball over a season-high 31 times in the loss.
For Illinois, sophomore forward Berry Wallace and freshman forward Cearah Parchment set the game-high with 17 points each as junior guard Maddie Webber (15), junior guard Gretchen Dolan (11), freshman guard Destiny Jackson (10), and sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton (10) all finished in the double-digits, as well. Webber's three buckets from deep and Parchment's 5-5 mark from the charity stripe were also game-leading.
Parchment led all players with seven rebounds and 10 steals as Dolan finished with six boards, just behind her. Jackson added a game-high eight assists for Illinois in the win.
Jackson opened the game with a jumper and after a steal, Parchment capitalized with a layup to put the Illini up 4-0 just 28 seconds in. A jumper from E. Clark brought Le Moyne back within two before the home team went on a 20-0 run that lasted over four minutes long. The Dolphins finally added a bucket as Dincher found the bottom of the net with a layup at the 4:05 mark in the first quarter. The Illini added 12 more consecutive points before junior forward Ashley Buragas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y. / John Jay / Mineral Area College) added a layup that concluded the scoring in the opening frame.
Up 36-6 after 10 minutes of play, Illinois came out of the first break firing as Dolan connected on a three to extend their lead before E. Clark responded with points from deep range for Le Moyne. The Illini closed out the first half on a 12-6 run that was capped off by a pair of free throws from Jackson as time expired.
Out of halftime with a 52-15 lead, Illinois continued to run up the score and recorded the first 19 points of the second half before freshman forward Rachel Lynch (Cork, Ireland / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.)) connected on a jumper in the paint with 2:06 remaining in the third. K. Clark followed with a jumper of her own to bring the score to 71-19 just ahead of four last-minute points put together by Illinois.
The hosts registered five points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter prior to a second three-pointer from E. Clark. Down 86-22 with 5:21 left in the game, freshman forward Ava Johnson (Richmond, Va. / The Steward School) added her first points of the day on a jumper before senior guard Michelina Lombardi (Wynantskill, N.Y. / Averill Park) did the same on a layup just over one minute later. Illinois scored 10 of the final 12 points as sophomore guard Mia Zenere added a layup in the paint to hit the triple-digit mark with :31 seconds left as the final score came to 100-28 in favor of the Fighting Illini.
What's Next:
Le Moyne will return home to Ted Grant Court for the second time this season at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6 as they host St. Bonaventure.
