Feb. 3, 2009 - North Central College took the early lead and never looked back, cruising to the 72-62 win over Augustana College in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's basketball game at Gregory Arena. With the win, the Cardinals swept the season series, having pulled out the 67-60 victory on January 13 in Rock Island.
Brianne Parra (Sr., Justice, Ill./Argo) scored the game's first bucket as the Cardinals led wire-to-wire, building a lead as large as 21-points in the first half; going into the lockerroom at the break with a 39-21 advantage.
The second half saw the Vikings whittle the deficit to as little as three points at the 2:45 mark before a Parra three the ensuing possession bumped the Cardinal lead back up to six. A Sarah Rachwalski layup brought the Vikings back to within four points, but the Cardinals quickly increased their safety net, ending the game on an 8-2 run to settle on the 10-point margin.
Jessica Davis (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) came off the bench and led all scorers with 21 points, sinking a career-high five three-pointers. Parra added 16 points while Meghan McGuire (So., Elgin, Ill./Central) chipped in 12. Jackie Errico (So., Blue Island, Ill./Marian Catholic) led the team on the glass with 11 rebounds, including seven offensive while Amber Cibrario (Sr., Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) dished out a game-high four assists.
Kristen Fox led the Viking scoring charge with 15 points while Rachwalski and Natalie Runge added 12 and 10.
North Central hit a red-hot 43.8 percent (seven-for-16) of its three-point attempts while limiting Augustana to just 14.3 percent (one-for-seven).
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 9-9 overall and 4-4 in CCIW action while the Vikings fall to 3-17 on the year and 1-8 in conference play. The Cardinals have now won 10 of the last 11 games in the series and are 14-4 against Augustana since 2000. North Central returns to the hardwood on Saturday, February 7, taking on Wheaton College at the King Arena where the Cardinals will look to avenge their early season loss to the Thunder.
