(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College women's basketball team slowly wore down visiting Kishwaukee College on Tuesday evening in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The Chiefs (7-2) pulled away down the stretch to take an 80-56 win over the Kougars (4-6) in a game that was much closer than the final score made it appear. Waubonsee closed out the contest on a 19-2 run sparked by their defense, forcing seven Kishwaukee turnovers in the final seven minutes of play.
The Chiefs, decked out in pink Breast Cancer Awareness jersey's, jumped in front a minute into the contest when Anna-Marie Godina nailed a three-pointer. However, Kishwaukee tallied a pair of fastbreak baskets to grab an 8-5 lead. Waubonsee came back to tie the game at 13 when Makayla McNally sank a pair of free throws with four minutes left in the first quarter. Two minutes later Godina splashed a high-arching trey to give the home team a 20-17 lead. The period ended with the Chiefs holding that three-point lead at 24-21 on the strength of going 10 for 12 from the foul line.
Outside of Godina, Waubonsee couldn't buy a basket from long range. The rest of the Chiefs were a combined 0 for 11 until Samantha Kerry drilled a triple from the left corner three minutes into the second quarter. A three-point play by Kishwaukee's Cayla Evans helped put the visitors in front 33-31 halfway through the period. Both teams looked sluggish over the next several minutes before the Chiefs finally took a 38-36 lead on a long triple by Niallie Evans. The half ended with Waubonsee clinging to a slim 40-38 lead, despite the Kougars owning a 26-12 advantage in points in the paint and the Chiefs shooting just 33.3 percent from the field overall.
Waubonsee began to get some separation early in the third quarter when Godina drilled a three from the right corner to make it 49-42. A moment later Evans connected on a pair of free throws to push the lead to double digits for the first time at 52-42. Kishwaukee quickly put together a 6-0 run to get back within striking distance. The Chiefs answered as Evan drained a triple and then scored on a lay-in off a great pass from Danielle Bulson. In the final minute of the stanza Waubonsee took its biggest lead at 59-48 on a free throw by Kerry. The game entered the final period with the Chiefs in front 59-50.
Neither team scored in the initial two minutes of the fourth quarter. McNally then made a clockwise spinning move on the block and scored from close range. Another McNally basket in the paint staked Waubonsee to a 65-54 lead and Kerry followed with a breakaway lay-in as Kishwaukee began to show signs of fatigue. The Kougars got within eight before the Chiefs then erupted with a quick 10-0 run to suddenly surge ahead 75-56 with two and talk minutes to go. Evans then tossed a left-handed pass to Nylah Mathews in stride for a easy lay-in in the final minute to put Waubonsee ahead by 21. Evans then put the icing on the cake by drilling a three-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock expired on the Chiefs' final possession of the game.
Evans led all scorers with 24 points to go along with nine steals, eight assists and seven rebounds. Godina finished with 13 points, while Kerry added 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. McNally booked nine points, handed out three assists and registered four steals. Savannah FitzSimons ended the game with 10 boards and Bulson dished out four assists and snagged five rebounds. Kendall Darby led the Kougars with a double-double, scoring 15 points and hailing down 12 rebounds. Kishwaukee won the rebounding battle 55-41 overall but that was offset by 33 Kougars' turnovers. The Chiefs are on the road for their next two games, traveling to Black Hawk College in Moline on December 16 and to Harper College in Palatine on December 18. Waubonsee returns home on Monday, December 22 when they host South Suburban College.