Box Score

IMMACULATA, Pa.- The Immaculata women's basketball team (2-3, 1-0 CSAC) got off to a strong start in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play with a 64-46 wire-to-wire victory over visiting Notre Dame (1-2, 0-1 CSAC).
 
The Macs were led by a great game from sophomore Annie Kohutka with 19 points and six rebounds, while freshman Theresa Kearney filled the stat sheet with 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  Freshman Natalie Ayoub also chipped in 12 points and five boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Macs were hot to start the game, especially Kohutka, as they scored 10 of the first 12 points in the game's opening five minutes
-Kohutka knocked down a three and two jumpers, while Ayoub had a layup and a free throw to take an early 10-2 advantage
-The lead got as large as nine at 13-4 on a three-pointer by Kohutka to give her 10 first quarter points, and the Macs would take a 15-8 lead into the second period
-Notre Dame played well early in the second quarter, getting the lead as low as four points a few times, but the Macs had a response with back-to-back layups by sophomore Dia Veneziano (4 points) and a three pointer from freshman Shannon Kelly (3 points) off the bench to head to the locker room with a 32-23 advantage
-The Gators scored the first four points out of the locker room to make it 32-27, but an 11-0 run over the next nearly four minutes put the game in double digits which is where it would stay
-Junior Amber Ballinger (9 points) hit a jumper, followed by layup by Kearney and a three-pointer by senior Gina Cocci (4 points).  Kearney hit a pair of free throws and a Ballinger layup put the Macs up comfortably at 43-27 with six minutes to go in the quarter
-The Macs took a 51-37 lead into the fourth quarter.  Notre Dame got as close as 10 at 53-43 with 5:20 remaining, but free throws grew the lead back to 13, and the Macs would finish the game with their biggest lead at 64-46
 
KEY TEAM STATS
-The Macs shot 23-for-61 (37.7%) from the field while holding Notre Dame to 16-for-53 (30.2%)
-The Macs held Notre Dame 0-for-9 from three point range and were 6-of-21 themselves
-IU dominated on the glass, pulling down 47 boards to just 36 for the Gators
 
KEY PLAYER STATS
-IU Point Leaders: Kohutka 19, Kearney 13, Ayoub, 12
-IU Rebound Leaders: Kearney 10, Kohutka 6, Ayoub/Krewson 5
-IU Assist Leaders: Cocci 5, Kearney 5
-IU Steal Leaders: Ayoub 3, Kearney 3
 
WHAT THEY SAID
Head Coach Chrissy Esbensen said, "We are extremely happy to start CSAC play with a win after being inconsistent the last few games.  We had a great team effort tonight, especially defensively not giving up a single three-pointer, and we rebounded the ball well to get the win.  Hopefully we can continue that moving into Saturday."
 
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs will play at Cabrini at 1 p.m. on Saturday.