FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Box Score

WHEATON, Ill. (Jan. 29, 2011)--Falling victim to a late scoring surge, North Central College suffered a 76-70 setback to Wheaton College on Saturday night in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's basketball game inside King Arena.

The Cardinals (6-13, 2-6 CCIW) held a 54-50 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the game off a Sophie Newson jumper before the homestanding Thunder (13-5, 6-2 CCIW) embarked on a six-minute scoring binge, outscoring North Central 16-2 to grab a game-high 10-point lead before a Jackie Errico jumper broke up the run with 1:47 remaining.

North Central whittled the deficit to just five with 53.8 seconds remaining on a three-point play by Helen Muleya but was unable to come any closer as Wheaton converted its free throws to hold on for the six-point victory.

The Thunder took a 31-30 advantage into intermission after a volatile first half that featured 12 lead changes and four ties. Wheaton scored the game's opening bucket before the Cardinals tallied seven of the next eight. Jenny Swanson sunk her second three of the half with 15:32 to go to give the Cardinals the 10-5 lead, prompting a Wheaton timeout.

The Thunder came out of the timeout firing, mounting an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead. North Central responded and retook the lead, rattling off seven straight with five of those points coming courtesy of Christine Karl. The rest of the half would see the two team's trade jabs with Kelly Brooks sinking a layup with eight seconds left to give Wheaton the one-point halftime edge.

Errico ended the night with her second straight double-double, pouring on a career-high 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds to pace the Cardinals. Swanson finished with 17 points while Karl chipped in nine.

Kelly Brooks came off the bench and paced Wheaton, scoring 20 points while Lindsey Brenneman and Annie Bowen added 16 and 14 points, respectively.

The Cardinals return to the hardwood on Tuesday, Feb. 1, hosting Illinois Wesleyan University at 7:30 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.