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

Box Score

Feb. 17, 2011-- North Central College trailed by just five at the half against seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University on Thursday inside Gregory Arena before the Titans mounted a huge scoring surge in the final 20 minutes of play as the Cardinals fell 78-50 in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's basketball game.

Seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan (19-4, 11-1 CCIW) mounted an early 10-0 run in the opening half of play, taking a 13-2 lead with 15:41 remaining and prompting a Cardinal timeout. The Cardinals (8-16, 4-9 CCIW) cut the deficit to just three over the next three minutes, scoring nine of the next points with Christine Karl accounting for six of those points during the spurt.

IWU mushroomed its lead up to 10-points before the Cardinals stormed back, scoring nine straight to cut the deficit to just three with 4:34 remaining on a pair of Emily Collins free throws. Both team's would go cold from the field, with neither team scoring a bucket until IWU's Britt Hasselbring sunk a jumper with four ticks remaining giving the Titans the 30-25 halftime lead.

Helen Muleya opened the second half with a layup, closing the gap to just three before the Titans piled on the next 11 to build a double-digit lead. IWU would continue to apply the pressure, including scoring 21 straight during a seven-minute stretch to cruise to the 28-point victory.

The Cardinals held the Titans to shooting just 35.3 percent (12-for-34) in the opening half before the visitors exploded in the second half, shooting 62.5 percent (20-for-32) from the floor. North Central finished the game shooting 33.3 percent (18-for-54) from the field.

Karl led the Cardinals with nine points while Collins and Sophie Newson led the team on the glass, each pulling down five rebounds.

Olivia Lett led the Titans with 18 points while Nikki Preston added 12. Stacey Arlis added 11 and a game-high eight rebounds.

North Central closes out its 2010-2011 season on Saturday, hosting Augustana College at 5 p.m. inside Gregory Arena. The game will be televised live on Naperville Community Television's Channel 17 and at www.nctv17.com.