CHICAGO, Ill. - The Rockford University women's basketball team picked up a 53-49 win on Saturday afternoon at Illinois Tech. Although the final score was close, Rockford led for the majority of the afternoon. The Regents led for 24 minutes and 8 seconds, compared to just 9 minutes for the Scarlet Hawks. Statistically the game was very tight, but Rockford held decided advantages in a few key areas. The Regents made 9 three-pointers compared to just 4 for IIT. Rockford also outrebounded Illinois Tech 47-33 and had a huge 23-10 edge in points off turnovers. This marks the fifth straight win for the Regents against the Scarlet Hawks.
- Rockford scored the first three points of the game, but Illinois Tech responded with eight straight points to grab an early 8-3 lead.
- The Scarlet Hawks extended their lead to as many as six, before the Regents closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to make it a 14-13 IIT advantage after one quarter of play. Emily Rich and Nia Wilkerson each drained a three-pointer over that stretch.
- Nia Wilkerson then proceeded to hit her second triple of the game to start the second quarter, and give Rockford its first lead since it was 3-0 in the opening minutes of the game.
- The game went back-and-forth over the remainder of the quarter, with Jocelyn Callahan drilling a three-pointer in the closing seconds, to send the Regents into halftime leading 25-22.
- Rockford opened the second half on an 16-3 run, including scoring the first six points, to take the largest lead of the game for either team at 41-25. Lexi Keating led the way with five points, while Grace Vyborny and Tyra Clark each chipped in four.
- However, the Scarlet Hawks promptly went on a 14-2 run that spanned both the third and fourth quarters to make it just a 43-39 Rockford advantage.
- Fortunately, the Regents scored the next five points to get their lead back up to nine, and then made enough free throws down the stretch to hold of the Scarlet Hawks and secure the 53-49 victory.
- Tyra Clark scored a team-high 9 points on 80% shooting. She also had 6 rebounds and a steal.
- Lexi Keating added 8 points and 5 rebounds.
- Grace Vyborny tallied 7 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and a block.
- Nia Wilkerson had 7 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench.
