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

Box Score

CHICAGO (Feb. 15, 2012)-- North Central College held a seven-point lead with 3:27 remaining before homestanding North Park University tallied the game's final 11 points, downing the Cardinals 61-57 on Wednesday night in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's basketball game inside NPU Gymnasium.

Wednesday's clash featured seven ties and three lead changes with an Emily Collins jumper with 3:27 remaining gave the visiting Cardinals (6-18, 0-13 CCIW) their biggest lead of the night at 57-50. North Central went ice cold the rest of the game, misfiring on all four attempts from the field while the host Vikings (10-14, 4-9 CCIW) mounted an 11-0 run to hold on for the win.

NPU's Bridgette Gray tied the game with 1:24 left on a three-pointer while Roxanne Jones pushed the home team in front, sinking a jumper with 25 ticks remaining. A steal by Sarah Peterson the ensuing possession forced the Cardinals' to foul sending Peterson to the line where she sunk both free throws to put the game out of reach with 13 seconds left.

The Cardinals trailed by as many as nine points in the opening frame as NPU enjoyed a 34-29 edge at the half. North Central erased the deficit early in the second half and utilized a 7-0 run to turn a tie game into a 51-44 lead with 8:28 remaining with Larynn Shumaker accounting for five of the team's seven points during the spurt.

Shumaker came off the bench and led the Cardinals with 14 points and nine rebounds while Jenny Swanson tallied 13 points. Helen Muleya added 11 while Emily Collins recorded 10 points and seven boards.

Roxanne Jones paced the Vikings with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Cardinals close out their 2011-2012 season on Saturday, hosting Millikin University at 2 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.