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

Box Score

WHEATON, Ill. (Dec. 7, 2016) – The North Central College women's basketball team's attempt at an upset of 17^th-ranked Wheaton College fell just short on Wednesday, as the Cardinals fell to 0-2 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play with a 90-85 loss inside King Arena.

North Central came out slow in the opening quarter, at one point trailing by as many as 13, but responded with a 15-4 run to open the second quarter and take a 35-34 lead with 3:36 to play before the half.  A Miranda Grizaffi three-pointer jumpstarted the Cardinal run, while Paula Zerante capped the run with a long ball of her own.

The two teams went back-and-forth the remainder of the second quarter, before Caroline Heimerdinger gave the Cardinals a 46-44 advantage with a three right shortly before the end of the half.

The Thunder (6-1, 2-0 CCIW) came storming back however to begin the third quarter, as a 8-0 run highlighted by six points from Kelly Lawson quickly gave Wheaton a 52-46 lead less than three minutes into the quarter.

Wheaton held the lead the remainder of the contest but North Central did not go down quietly, pulling to within two points late, 87-85 with just 27 seconds remaining.  The Thunder however knocked down three of four free throws in the closing seconds to seal the victory 90-85.

Four Cardinals finished in double figures, as Grizaffi and Diamond Calicott each finished with 14 points to pace the offense, while Jamie Cuny finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and recording 12 rebounds.  Mayson Whipple finished with 11 points, also dishing out a team-high four assists and recording three steals on defense.

Reigning CCIW Player of the Year Katie McDaniels connected on 13 of 25 shots to finish with 35 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds.  Devin Kyler finished with a double-double, adding 14 points and 15 boards, while also finishing with a team-high eight assists and five blocked shots.

North Central continues conference play this weekend, travelling to Millikin University on Saturday, Dec. 10 with tip-off slated for 5 p.m. Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.