Cook, Giacone lead in 67-53 win over Illinois

Makira Cook (white jersey, pictured Nov. 1 against IUP) led the Flyers with 21 points in their 67-53 win over Illinois on Friday. Photo courtesy of Keegan Gupta, Flyer News.

Peter Burtnett | Sports Editor

The Dayton Flyers women’s basketball team made a second-half push against Illinois on Friday to come away with a 67-53 win in the Daytona Beach Invitational.

From the start, sophomore guard Makira Cook and graduate guard Jenna Giacone were scoring with ease. Giacone scored nine points (three made 3-pointers) and Cook added three as the Flyers jumped out to a 15-5 lead with 4:32 left in the first quarter. 

Over the rest of the game, the Fighting Illini made a few pushes, even trimming the deficit to two at halftime after holding the Flyers to just 10 second quarter points. Leading just 32-30 at the break, the Flyers eventually returned to their early first quarter form, but the Illini took a quick 35-34 lead two minutes into the third quarter.

By the end of the quarter, Cook and Giacone made up most of the scoring (16 of 20 points) as the Flyers inflated their lead to 52-42 heading into the fourth quarter.

From there, the Flyers led by at least eight points, and Cook finished with 21 points (7-16 field goals, 3-7 on threes) and three assists, while Giacone added 17 points (5-9 on threes). 

The Flyers came away with a 67-53 win to move to 4-2 this season, and will host Florida A&M at UD Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. After that, the Flyers will be on the road or at neutral sites for the next four games before their next home game a month later on Dec. 29 against Howard.

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