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Ellie Gubbrud
Cory Hall
72
Winner Grinnell College GC 8-6,4-3 Midwest
68
Illinois College ILL 8-6,4-3 Midwest
Winner
Grinnell College GC
8-6,4-3 Midwest
72
Final
68
Illinois College ILL
8-6,4-3 Midwest
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Grinnell College GC 18 14 18 14 8 72
Illinois College ILL 13 12 17 22 4 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell women return to winning ways with key overtime win at Illinois College

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - After having its hot streak temporarily interrupted by Midwest Conference leader Ripon College on Saturday, the Grinnell College women's basketball team is back on the fast track.

The Pioneers won for the fifth time in their last six outings Wednesday night, shooting out to an early lead against Illinois College, losing it and then going to overtime before coming away with a 72-68 in a key league game. Grinnell, which stretched its winning streak against the Lady Blues to three games, is tied for fourth in the MWC at 4-3 while improving to 8-6 overall. Illinois College has identical marks.

Kate Tomczik '22 scored the eventual game-winner for the Pioneers, connecting on a layup with just over a minute to go in overtime for a 70-68 lead. Grinnell then forced a turnover and Sofia Ahooja '22 was fouled with 7 seconds to go and made a free throw.

Illinois College missed a shot on its trip down the floor and the Lady Blues fouled Kathryn Stender '21, who made a free throw with just over a second to go to account for the final score.

Tyria Heath '21 led Grinnell with another huge game, scoring 30 points and grabbing six boards. She now ranks 14th in program history for career scoring with 870 points.

Tomczik added 15 points and Ellie Gubbrud '22 just missed a double-double with a career-high 15 rebounds to go with nine points. The rebound total is the highest for a Pioneer this season. Stender also had nine points and two blocks, while Emmy Nyquist '23 had a career-high three steals to go along with three assists. Ahooja added three steals.

Grinnell shot out to an 18-13 lead by the end of the first quarter and was up 32-25 at halftime. The Lady Blues forced a 38-all tie midway through the third period but Heath halted the momentum with a 3-pointer. Grinnell later held a one-point lead when Gubbrud made a free throw, Stender a 3-pointer and Heath three consecutive free throws to push the Pioneers ahead 48-40. They went on to lead 50-42 heading into the fourth quarter.

Heath's layup early in the fourth quarter gave Grinnell a 53-43 lead, but the hosts raced back with a 16-1 run for a 59-54 lead with 3:11 to go. But the Pioneers didn't back down, as Nyquist hit a trey to slice the gap to two.

Later, trailing by three, Stender scored inside to bring the Pioneers within 63-62 with 59 seconds left. After an Illinois College missed layup, Heath put Grinnell ahead with 22 seconds remaining with a left-handed layup. The Lady Blues were fouled on their trip down the court and made one of two free throws to force overtime at 64-all.

There were two ties in overtime, the final at 68-all, before Tomczik's basket gave Grinnell the lead for good.

Grinnell is back in action Saturday with a 3 p.m. meeting against Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. The Pioneers defeated the Vikings 80-77 on Jan. 4.
 
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