Savannah Kruse (Lake St. Louis, Missouri / Liberty) registered a team-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds, but the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers put on a dominating showcase en route to a 75-58 win in a SLIAC Conference women's basketball game played on Wednesday afternoon.
The first quarter was close as neither team was able to gain much of advantage. IW (2-8) tried to pull away from the Beavers (2-9), but a strong 8-point start from Jenna Dudra (Pana, Illinois / Pana) kept BC within reach. The quarter would end with IW leading 15-14.
The Tiger’s maintained their lead, and in the second period, they'd stretch their advantage to two points. The Beavers didn't falter, and a three-pointer and two free throws from Kruse had the visitors still in the game. The Tigers took a slight 28-26 edge into the locker room at the half.
IW top scored again in the 3rd period to lead 20-17 by the forth as a 12 point quarter from Darby Massner kept the Tigers ahead.
The final quarter of play would prove to be the Tiger’s time to shine as IW had an impressive 57.1 percent performance from the field including 50 percent from beyond the arc. With just under four minutes left in the game, an outburst of 17 points to Blackburn’s seven would propel the Tiger’s to a strong lead to close out the game. The final buzzer would go off with the game score being 75-58.
IW shot just 36.2 percent for the game, but they outscored the Beavers 27-8 at the foul line.
UP NEXT: Next for Blackburn is a home game to host Fontbonne in another SLIAC conference game on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.