The Colorado College women's basketball team moved to 3-0 at home after an 80-41 route of Illinois Institute of Technology on Friday, Nov. 24, to open the Colorado College Thanksgiving Classic.
Three Tigers scored in double digits while the defense held the Scarlet Hawks to 25.5 percent shooting.
Sophomore
Kayla Mackel led all CC scorers with 15 points, including 3-5 from three-point range. As a team, the Tigers shot 38 percent from deep.
Healy Bledsoe played 21 minutes and logged 11 points, six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.
Junior
Zoe Tomlinson recorded her fifth-straight double-double after dishing out 10 points and 16 rebounds. Tomlinson played only 19 minutes and had the most of her rebounds in the first half. The New York native also had three blocks.
"Zoë's fifth double-double was impressive due to the consistency it represents in her game," head coach
Katherine Auguste said. "She is a steady presence for us in terms of both play and leadership, and it's fun watching her help our team find success through her effort on the court."
The Tigers got off to a hot start on both ends of the floor. They led 15-3 after the first 10 minutes and held the Hawks to 7.69 percent shooting in the first quarter. It was much of the same story in the second quarter, but the Hawks kept the scoring differential to seven points. CC shot 41.95 percent in the first half, including 3-5 from three-point range in the second quarter.
At halftime, CC led 34-15. In the third quarter, the Tigers continued to build the lead despite a brief spurt of offense by the Hawks to cut the lead down to 23 after CC made it up to 28. CC went on an 8-0 run to end the quarter and go into the fourth with a 52-26 lead.
The fourth quarter was the best offensively for CC; they shot 70.59 percent from the floor and made three of six three-pointers. The Tigers only got the charity stripe thrice, but it didn't matter in the end, as they had 18 points off the 24 IIT turnovers.
CC closed out the game, increasing their lead with three-pointers from
Emma Nawara and
Juliana Garcia to solidify the 80-41 win. Nawara was three points shy of a double-double; she had 10 rebounds and seven points. Garcia had a solid day, especially defensively, swiping a career-high five steals to go with her nine points, four rebounds and one block.
The Tigers ended the game with a season-high 59 rebounds, including 27 offensive, the most they've had since grabbing 30 offensive boards against St. Thomas on Feb. 17, 2023.
"As a whole, our team is rebounding the basketball like crazy and enjoying all of the good things that brings – more possessions, more scoring, more fun in every way," Auguste said. "Rebounding is a huge focus for this group and we intend to keep pushing the needle in this area."
In the paint, CC had 48 points, the most since the season opener against Nebraska Wesleyan, where they had 52.
"It was great seeing so many on our team find success tonight," Auguste said. "Kyle and Rose's assists, Emma's rebounds, Kayla's long-range shots, Healy's defensive presence. Every individual brought their own unique presence to the game tonight and that's what we need to start cranking on all cylinders."
CC will be back on Saturday against Concordia (WI). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. MT.
