FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Box Score
Dec. 30, 2013 – The North Central College women's basketball team improved to 6-0 this season when scoring over 100 points, running away with a 108-80 victory over Aurora University, Monday night inside Gregory Arena.
The Cardinals (7-4) jumped out to an early 11-point advantage, leading 16-5 just over five minutes into the game. The North Central run was highlighted by a trio of three-pointers, as
Lauren Hernandez,
Miranda Grizaffi and
Kelsey Cooling each hit from long range.
The North Central lead hovered around the 10-point mark throughout a majority of the first half, until the final three minutes when the Spartans (4-7) ended the half on a 12-3 run, closing the Cardinal gap 45-43 heading into halftime.
To start the second half, North Central ran out to a 15-2 advantage as
Kimberly Wilson and Cooling hit back-to-back three's, followed by a lay-up from
Larynn Shumaker off a
Maryssa Cladis steal, and
DeJa Moore capped off the run with a lay-in to give the Cardinals a 60-45 lead with just over 17 minutes to play.
The Spartan offense did not go down easy, Aurora trimmed the lead 77-71 at the 9:30 mark, but the Cardinals would end on the game's pivotal run, a 31-9 streak as the Cardinal defense forced seven of Aurora's 39 turnovers down the stretch.
North Central drained 17 three-pointers on the evening while holding Aurora to an 0 for 6 showing from downtown, despite being outrebounded by a 65-54 margin.
Grizaffi paced the Cardinal offense with a career-high 17 points on 5 of 12 shooting from three. Shumaker added 16 points while Hernandez chipped in 12 points on four three-pointers.
Aurora's Anna Roszkowski finished with a game-high 28 points and 20 rebounds, while Shay Jenkins also ended with a double-double, scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 boards while also finishing with seven assists.
North Central opens College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play Saturday, Dec. 4, hosting North Park University at 5 pm.
