MADISON, Wis. – Armed with her first recruiting class and a non-stop frenetic offense, head coach Chaia Huff broke through and laid claim to her first victory as an Eagle with a 78-54 rout of Illinois Tech on Wednesday.

Leading the way for their new coach was the freshmen duo of Delaney Wilhelm (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Abby Shane (18 points and four rebounds), who commandeered a second quarter surge that saw the Eagles (1-0) outscore the Scarlet Hawks (0-1), 24-5, to effectively put the game away early. After trailing the Scarlet Hawks 18-15 through the first quarter, the Eagles turned on the jets and showed off their new fast paced offense and full-court press.

Missed shots and turnovers by the Scarlet Hawks turned into scoring opportunities and Wilhelm, Shane, and freshman point guard Brooke Lonigro pushed the pace and made them pay. Wilhelm and Shane combined for 25 points while the defense forced 22 turnovers in the first half. 

Junior Allison Gordon, the elder statesmen of this year's squad as a junior and the only player above sophomore status, pulled down 12 rebounds and scored eight of her nine points in a rocky first quarter. The Scarlet Hawks led after the first stanza, but never threatened after the Eagles second quarter blowout.

The Eagles pushed their lead to 32 points in the second half and never let their lead slip below 20 points in their first season opening win since 2010. it helped that the offense consistently found the best option with assists on over 82 percent of their field goals made (23 of 28) on the game.

The quick pace led to 13 Eagles seeing playing time in tonight's win and 52 combined turnovers between both teams. Led by Wilhelm, the Eagle reserves scored 41 of the team's 78 points and launched 19 of the team's 37 three-point attempts.

With her first win in the books, Coach Huff and the Eagles look for more on the road against Mount Mary this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.