Women's Lacrosse | 4/18/2015 3:14:00 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Apr. 18, 2015) - Rallying quickly after seeing its eight-game winning streak snapped three days earlier, the North Central College women's lacrosse team secured a 10th win for the second time in its history Saturday, riding a pair of extending scoring runs to post a 19-12 victory at Illinois Wesleyan University in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play at Tucci Stadium.

The Cardinals (10-2, 4-1 CCIW) scored five straight goals in a 12-minute stretch early in the first half, then scored six straight times in a similar span in the second period to keep themselves clear of the hosts in the first women's lacrosse meeting between the two institutions. North Central benefited from a 21-12 advantage in draw controls, tying its single-game school record. Juniors Gina Fisher and Claire Norfleet led the way with nine draw controls each, matching the second-highest individual single-game total in the Cardinals' history.

Fisher scored three times and Norfleet scored twice in North Central's five-goal surge in the first half, which left the visitors with a 6-1 lead with 13:35 on the clock. The Titans (6-8, 1-3) narrowed the gap to 8-5 with 4:25 before halftime, but Fisher responded by assisting on a goal by Bianca Perri and scoring on a free-position shot in the final 2:19, and the Cardinals carried a 10-6 edge into halftime.

IWU opened the second half with a goal by Lauren Pavich and a free-position goal from Maggie Krause to trail by just a 10-8 margin with 27:03 to play. Fisher countered with two goals in just 32 seconds, and Kassie Whaling (on a free position) and Norfleet followed by scoring within 47 seconds of each other to build the lead back up to 14-8 with 22:26 left. The Cardinals were kept out of the net for most of the next 10 minutes, but allowed IWU just one shot attempt during that time. North Central got two more goals in quick succession with just under 13 minutes to play, as Anicia Mattingly and Cara Cummings scored in a 22-second span.

Fisher closed out the game with six goals and five assists, while Whaling totaled four goals and Norfleet scored three. Jordyn McFarlane added four assists, while Rebecca James led the way with seven ground balls. Goalkeeper Kat Schultz saved eight shots on goal.

Abby Kushina was the Titans' top scorer with four goals and Pavich totaled three goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Claire Quist recorded 13 saves.

North Central hosts Concordia University Wisconsin (8-6) in a non-conference contest on Tuesday. Play at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.  Live in-game statistics and video coverage from Naperville Community Television can be accessed by clicking HERE.