On Jan. 24, the Pioneers added another win to the books as they defeated Urbana in a tense game.
Juniors Maryn Tanferi and Natalie Walker and seniors Jaxsyn Murdock, Evan Platfoot and Avery Murdock started the game. The Pioneers started great in the first half. Tanferi forced an excellent turnover that resulted in a wide open layup. Shortly after Tanferi’s layup, Platfoot scored her first three pointer, which resulted in an Urbana timeout.
This is when Urbana’s defense was turned up a few notches. Instead of quick scoring plays, the Pioneers were forced to move the ball around and find an opening, which resulted in many fouls from Urbana.
The refs gave Urbana’s bench a warning after they began to get rowdy from all of the fouls being called. This led to a player on Urbana getting a technical foul, which gave Platfoot two extra points from the free throws she made.
There were claims from Urbana players that Tanferi was “swinging,” which had Urbana’s fans booing the Pioneers as they walked to their locker room after the first half with the Pioneers leading 23-15.
For the remainder of the game, Urbana’s defense was persistently intense, causing the Pioneers to make use of their subs.
Walker dominated the second half, cleaning up the long range shots and taking the ball to the paint with strong power moves. She also racked up 15 rebounds, making her the leading rebounder of the game.
The Pioneers maintained their lead in the second half even though Urbana kept them busy with their defense, winning the game 51-34.
