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

Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. (Feb. 13, 2016) – Staying alive in the hunt for a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament bid, the North Central College women's basketball team took down Elmhurst College, 89-83 on Saturday inside R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
The Cardinals came out slow in the opening quarter, falling behind 12-4 early, but closed the quarter on a 24-5 run over the final six minutes to take a 28-17 lead after the first quarter.  The Cardinal run was highlighted by eight points from Therese Pettersson, while Jamie Cuny, Kimberly Wilson, Michaela Reedy and Paula Zerante all hit from three-point range.
 
The hot shooting carried over to the second quarter, as North Central (13-11, 7-6 CCIW) began the quarter on a 13-4 run to extend the lead to 20 points with 6:02 to play before halftime.  This time, Caroline Heimerdinger sparked the rally with a long ball, while Reedy drained another from deep and Mayson Whipple got in on the action with a long ball of her own.
 
The Bluejays (13-11, 7-6 CCIW) did not back down however, going on a 20-8 run of its own to close the second quarter and trim the Cardinal lead 49-41 heading into the intermission.
 
North Central increased the lead back to double-figures early in the third quarter, as a three-pointer from Miranda Grizaffi and a pair of free throws from Pettersson gave the Cardinals a 54-41 advantage.
 
Once again, Elmhurst did not go down without a fight, clawing back to within five points of the lead 68-63 with 1:18 to play in the third as North Central was only able to connect on three field goals over the final six minutes of the quarter.
 
Heading into the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, North Central held off the Bluejay comeback attempt late, as Elmhurst drew to within three points of the lead late, 86-83 with just 36 seconds to play, but three free throws down the stretch from Whipple sealed the win for North Central.
 
Pettersson led the Cardinal offense with 19 points to go along with a game-high five steals and three blocks on defense.  Whipple finished with 13 points and four assists, while Cuny added 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
 
Mikaela Eppard led all players with 30 points and 19 rebounds for Elmhurst, while Claire Monroe finished with 14 points and Michael Kumer added 11.
 
North Central wraps up the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 20, traveling to North Park University with tip-off slated for 5 p.m.  Links to live coverage are available HERE.