CHICAGO – After a narrow defeat at the hands of Dennison Saturday, the Yellowjacket women's basketball team was looking to close out its season-opening trip to Chicago with a split, and in the process earning its first win of the 2023-24 season.
 
Pomona-Pitzer out of Claremont, California was the opponent Sunday, the second game of the season was a little more to the Yellowjackets' liking.
 
Elise Besonen (Ewen, Mich./Ewen-Trout Creek) led the Yellowjackets with a career-best 26 points, on the way to a 70-57 win over Pomona-Pitzer at the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Chicago Sunday.
 
A strong performance was also turned in by MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset), who had 16 points to go along with a team-high five rebounds. Leccia also led the Yellowjackets (1-1, 0-0 UMAC) with four assists and four steals in the contest.
 
The Yellowjackets put together a monster first quarter Sunday, hitting on 56.25 percent of their shots from the field, as they built a 21-14 lead after 10 minutes. After allowing the first basket of the game, the Yellowjackets went on a 13-2 run to take the lead. Five different players made baskets as part of the run. The lead was as high as eight in the opening frame.
 
In the second quarter the Yellowjackets went cold, not hitting on a field goal attempt until Charlotte Ferstl (Plain, Wis./River Valley) made a layup with just 2:11 to go in the half. Prior to that, Besonen made a pair of free throws, and that was all the scoring the Yellowjackets could muster. Pomona-Pitzer, on the other hand, found its range and not only closed the gap on the Yellowjackets, but took the lead. The Sagehens 15-2 at one point to pull in front 29-23. The 'Jackets closed the half with a layup by Ferstl and a three from Besonen to go to the locker room down just one, 29-28.
 
Coming out the locker room the Yellowjackets again caught fire, and this time it would stay that way. The 'Jackets shot 60 percent in the third quarter and were even better in the fourth, hitting at a 61.54 percent clip.
 
The Sagehens scored the first six points of the second half to make its lead 35-28. Their lead would be as big as 10, 40-30, but that's when the 'Jackets came to life. Led by Besonen, who scored eight straight points to pull the 'Jackets to within two, 40-38. Elsa Olson (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) then hit a three with 3:55 to play in the third quarter, putting the Yellowjackets ahead 41-40. The teams would swap buckets the rest of the quarter and head to the fourth tied, 47-47.
 
Leccia broke the tie with a three just 15 seconds into the fourth quarter, and after a turnover Ferstl laid one in and, just like that, the 'Jackets were up 52-47. From there the Yellowjackets blew the game open, building their lead to as many as 14, before closing things out for the 13-point win.
 
Ferstl finished the game with eight points and four rebounds, while Chloe Peterson (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) had seven points and four rebounds.
 
Jadyn Lee and Abigail Homan led the Sagehens with 16 points each.
 
The Yellowjackets return to action Friday, Nov. 17 when they travel to Appleton for a non-conference game with Lawrence University. The opening tip is set for 7 p.m.