Chicago, Ill. - A furious comeback by the Illinois Tech women's basketball team came down to a last second shot in their home opener Thursday night against Judson at the Keating Sports Center. But the iron wasn't kind on this night, as the last second shot in the paint to tie the game rolled off the rim and out, allowing the Eagles to walk away with a 65-63 victory over the Scarlet Hawks. The Hawks fell to 0-3 on the season. The Eagles improved to 1-1.

Despite the loss, the Scarlet Hawks showed a lot of resolve on this night. Behind by 12 points with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Hawks closed the deficit to 3 points at the end of the half. The Hawks again found themselves trailing by 12 near the end of the third quarter, but battled all the way back and actually took a one point lead with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter. With Judson retaking the lead 65-63, the Hawks had one final chance to tie or win the game when they had an inbound possession next to their bench with 1.8 seconds remaining. Rusing lofted an inbound pass to Grace Goodnough just outside the paint to the left of the basket. Goodnough put up a quick jumper, but it rolled off the rim as time expired. The Scarlet Hawks had a big night from Chloe Churilla, who led all scorers with 19 points, with Berit Rusing adding 13 points and Julie Bucci 11.

How It Happened

• First Quarter - Judson 18 - Illinois Tech 12: A slow start by the Scarlet Hawks found themselves trailing the Eagles by 11 points with 3:24 remaining in the opening quarter. But the Hawks used a 10-5 run to close out the quarter to pull within 6 points. Churilla led the Hawks with 5 points.
• Second Quarter - Illinois Tech 15 - Judson 12: The Eagles countered the Scarlet Hawks run at the end of the first quarter with an 8-2 run of their own to open up a 26-14 lead halfway through the second quarter. Illinois Tech would again regroup, powering through the remainder of the quarter by outscoring the Eagles 13-4 to close within 3 points at 30-27 at the end of the first half. Churilla and Rusing each had 6 points for the Hawks in the second quarter.
• Third Quarter - Judson 24 - Illinois Tech 17: The Scarlet Hawks forged two ties in the third quarter, with the second tie coming after a Rusing jumper with 5:02 remaining to pull even at 39-39. Judson would outscore the Hawks 15-5 the remainder of the quarter to go up by 10, 54-44. Rusing and Goodnough each had 4 points in the quarter.
• Fourth Quarter - Illinois Tech 19 - Judson 11: A pair of three-pointers by Bucci and Allie Sillo cut the Eagles lead to 54-50 with 6:39 remaining in the fourth quarter. An 8-3 run by Judson put them back up by 9 points at 62-53 with 4:47 remaining. But a pair of baskets and a free throw by Churilla, and 3 free throws by Kaya Jones pulled the Hawks within 1 point. After a missed jumper by Judson with 1:17 remaining, Goodnough converted on a layup with 45 seconds remaining to give Illinois Tech their first lead of the game at 63-62. The Eagles responded with a fast break layup just 3 seconds later to go up 64-63. After the Eagles converted 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds remaining to go up 65-63, the Hawks missed a jumper on the other end and had to foul with 1.8 seconds remaining. The Eagles missed both free throws, with the Hawks calling a timeout and setting up the final inbound and shot that ultimately would not fall. Churilla and Sillo each had 5 points in the final quarter.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Chloe Churilla led all scorers with 19 points on 8-9 shooting from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw line, pulled down 7 rebounds while adding 2 steals
• Berit Rusing had 13 points on 6-10 shooting, while adding 3 steals
• Julia Bucci with 11 points
• Grace Goodnough led the Hawks with 8 rebounds, while adding 8 points.

Inside The Box Score

• Brooke Heiman led the Eagles with 13 points, with Easton Kimball and Alliyah Kvamme each adding 12 points
• The Eagles bench outscored Illinois Tech 39-12
• Illinois Tech outscored the Eagles in the paint 30-22
• Judson had 16 turnovers; Illinois Tech had 23

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks are idle until Saturday, November 23rd when they travel to Jacksonville, Illinois to take on Illinois College at 3:00pm in a non-conference matchup.