LISLE, Ill. - The Benedictine University women's basketball team recorded the first win of the season, taking down visiting Edgewood College 75-63 in the conference opener.

The opening 20 minutes of play feature close action throughout with neither team leading by more than five. Nicole Botich evened the game at 8-8 with a layup at the 16:15 mark. Edgewood went on to score four straight to open a 12-8 lead. Benedictine answered with eight straight points to move ahead 16-12 on a jumper from Jasma Williams. Meghan Novak opened the run with a jumper. Consecutive baskets from Briana Hamilton put Benedictine up by five points at 24-19 with 7:27 to go. Edgewood tied the score with just under four minutes to play and the closing moments featured three ties and a pair of lead changes. Novak completed a three-point play with less than a second to go to hand Benedictine a 34-33 lead at the break.



Eight points to open the second half including six straight from Vincenza Ranallo put Benedictine in front by nine points. The host Eagles did not trail for the remainder of the contest. Edgewood fought within three points on several occasions but could pull no closer. Alanna Ferry knocked home a jumper with 5:22 left to hand Benedictine the largest lead of the contest at 66-52.

"That was a great team win for us," head coach Kristen Gillespie said. "It has been a rough couple of weeks for us to start against some tough non-conference competition, but we came to the conclusion that today started a new season. This was the first game of our real season. We really challenged our players to step up and show the kind of team that we know they can be, and I think tonight was the first time we put together a full 40 minutes."

The contest featured eight ties and six lead changes. Benedictine shot 51.6 percent from the field in the second half to pull away. Benedictine held a 44-41 edge on the glass and turned the ball over just nine times. Botich led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Ranallo tallied 16 points while Novak added 13 to go along with nine assists. Hamilton tacked on 10 points as the fourth player in double figures.

Benedictine (1-5, 1-0 NACC) travels to Aurora University on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. contest.