Millikin Women’s basketball took a hard loss, 86-54, to Illinois Wesleyan in a game that was over in the first half.
The Big Blue came out flat and struggled in the first half, only putting up 15 points. Throughout this half, Millikin struggled to get through an elite-level press from Wesleyan.
“Tough one today, but we battled our butts off till the end,” Head Coach Kirsten Hammer said. “They’re a great team, and they’re nationally ranked for a reason. That’s the team we want to be. We aspire to be one of the best. There are a lot of games left in the conference. Our fate isn’t decided yet, so we’ve got to win the games we should win and keep fighting and playing together.”
Wesleyan forced over 24 turnovers, which led to 22 points in their favor. To make matters worse, Millikin struggled in the rebounding department, which led to 14 second-chance points for the Titans.
“You’ve got to start out strong, and you can’t be frantic against teams that press. It’s a toughness thing, and we got rattled by it,” Hammer said. “Honestly, we need to slow down and run our stuff. We came out flat.”
However, the second half felt like a different story as Millikin would come out swinging, led by Senior Bella Dudley, who would have 14 points, 2 steals, and 2 assists to tag on. Dudley was able to help the young team in the second half, leading to a healthier half for the Big Blue, scoring 39 points in the second to only 15 in the first.
“She hates losing, probably sometimes more than I do,” Hammer said. “She’s gonna do what it takes to win, and she’s a senior, so every game is a last game for her, and she’s gonna fight till the end. We played a lot of first-year students tonight, so it’s her job to be a leader, help them grow, make sure they are doing the right things, teach them if they’re not, and take over games when we need her to.”
Millikin’s second-half surge was strong, and Hammer expressed her gratitude to the team for consistently pursuing and not quitting early.
“They did what we asked in the second half,” Hammer said. “They never stopped fighting. We’ve got to carry that over in practice, battling each other, competing, no off days. We can’t show up and hope it happens, we have to make it happen.”
Millikin is also battling some injuries, as sharpshooter Hannah Ermeling was sidelined today. The team looks to get healthy as they play Elmhurst this Saturday.
As always, Millikin stays optimistic about the season and shares their love for the Big Blue crowd today.
“They understand we are in that rebuilding phase right now, and they are gonna keep supporting us. We have a great following and a great crowd,” Hammer said. “We have to get it done for them on Saturday.”
Millikin basketball hosts Elmhurst this Saturday at 2:15 pm in a double header game and is looking to catch the win.
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