Women’s Basketball rolls against Bryant & Stratton

East Peoria, IL – The #14 ICC Women’s Basketball team (19-6) was back in action Saturday afternoon, in a D2 Top-25 battler against the #20 Bryant & Stratton Bobcats (19-8). On paper, this one was favoring the visiting Bobcats. They came in besting ICC in all statistical categories except for assists. Also of note, prior to this game, Bryant & Stratton was averaging 77.8 points per game.

The Cougars started the game well, but eventually the Bobcats found their way back into the game. Despite ICC making almost twice as many shots in the first quarter as Bryant & Stratton, ICC’s lead would be seven after ten minutes of play, 19-12. Krystal Walker and Kellyn Maynard both had good quarters offensively, as the two combined for 12 (6 each) of ICC’s 19 points.

The second quarter was where things really started to swing ICC’s way. Behind a good defensive stand, the held the Bobcats to just one shot in the second. Meanwhile, the Cougars would get seven girls into the scoring column, paced by two threes from Bailey Larsen. The spread out scoring and quality defense sent ICC to the locker room with a much larger halftime lead than some may have anticipated coming in. The Cougars would be up on the Bobcats, 42-19.

The game would take a turn the other way in the third, as Bryant & Stratton had their best quarter of the game scoring-wise, but ICC was already too far ahead. A five-point quarter from the Bobcats’ Kyla Pitts just couldn’t do it. Kathy Pinnock-Branford had her best quarter in this period, scoring eight of her 14 on the game. The Bobcats did out-shoot ICC from the free throw line in the third, making five out of eight to ICC’s four out of seven. Again, despite a resurgent offensive effort for the Bobcats out of the halftime locker room, the Cougars would still have a 27-point lead with just 10 minutes remaining in this one.

Fourth quarter action saw the Cougars score their most points in a quarter this game. The game was just about out of reach, and ICC was able to shut the door on the Bobcats in the final frame. Aubrey Magro had all nine of her points in the fourth, the most points in a quarter by a ICC player for this game. Six other Cougars would also hit the scoring column, and ICC would run away with a 88-47 victory over Bryant & Stratton.

Jasmine Levy was pulling down rebounds left and right in this one, as she would finish with a game-high 18 boards. The balanced scoring shows in the box score as well, as all nine of the Cougars that saw action scored. In fact, five of those nine were in double figures, led by a 16-point effort from Krystal Walker.

The next Women’s Basketball game is a marquee one if that. It’s a rivalry, Region-24, and Midwestern Athletic Conference game, as they’ll travel to Champaign to take on the #18-ranked Parkland Cobras. That game tips off on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, at 6:00 pm.

ICC Cougars Scorers:

Krystal Walker (16), Kathy Pinnock-Branford (14), Jasmine Levy (12), Kellyn Maynard (12), Bailey Larsen (10), Abby Coates (9), Aubrey Magro (9), Kennedy Banks (4), Sia Williams (2)

ICC Cougars Statistical Leaders:

• FGs | Krystal Walker & Kathy Pinnock-Branford (both went 6 for 11)
• 3’s | Bailey Larsen (2 for 4)
• FTs | Jasmine Levy (4 for 5)
• Reb | Jasmine Levy (18)
• Ast | Kathy Pinnock-Branford (7)
• Blk | Abby Coates & Jasmine Levy (3 each)
• Stl | Jasmine Levy (2)

ICC Cougars Team Stats:

• FGs | 36 for 74 (48.6%)
• 3’s | 4 for 10 (40%)
• FTs | 12 for 17 (70.6%)
• Reb | 59
• Ast | 28
• TO | 16
• Blk | 6
• Stl | 4

Next ICC Women’s Basketball Game:

• Wednesday, February 14th – 6:00 pm
• @ #18 Parkland College Cobras (Champaign, Illinois)

Twitter Follows: ICC Women’s Basketball (@ICC_CougarsWBB), ICC Cougars Athletics (@ICC_Cougars), Alex Staab (@StaabAlex)