North Central College Cardinals

Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Box Score

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Dec. 12, 2015) – Despite a 13-point third quarter lead, the North Central College women's basketball team was unable to hang on at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, falling 94-89 on Saturday inside Zorn Arena.
 
North Central held the Blugolds (3-5) to just 25 percent shooting in the opening half, taking a 41-34 lead into halftime.  Jamie Cuny led the Cardinal offense with 11 first half points, as North Central closed the half on a 17-4 run.
 
UW-Eau Claire mounted a third quarter comeback to knot the score at 43, but North Central responded with a run of its own, a 21-8 rally to take back the lead 64-51.  The Cardinal run was highlighted by five points from Mayson Whipple, as well as a three-pointer from Miranda Grizaffi and a three-point play the old fashioned way from Aaliyah Johnson.
 
The North Central lead did not last long however, as the Blugolds responded right back with a 14-0 run to quickly turn the tables and take a 65-64 advantage.
 
The two teams fought back-and-forth over the course of the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, as a Therese Pettersson layup regained the lead for North Central, 82-81 with under three minutes remaining.
 
Once again, the North Central lead did not last long as UW-Eau Claire scored five straight points to take a 85-82 lead and would not surrender the lead over the remaining 2:30.
 
Cuny led the Cardinal offense with a season-high 19 points, to go along with eight rebounds and a game-high three blocks.  Pettersson and Lauren Hernandez also finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Anita Sterling added a career-high 10 rebounds, to go along with eight points.
 
UW-Eau Claire's Madison Johnson led all players with 42 points and 17 rebounds, finishing 15-of-24 from the field including 12-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. 
 
North Central returns home on Thursday, Dec. 17, playing host to Benedictine University at 7 pm.  Links to live in-game statistics, video and audio are available HERE.