Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Feb. 26: Semifinal Round - No. 3 seed North Central College Cardinals (14-11) vs. No. 2 seed Illinois Wesleyan University Titans (16-9)
Tipoff: 5 p.m., King Arena
Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wheaton/?Radio: 89.1-FM WONCLive Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/wheaton/wbball/Setting the Scene: North Central qualifies for the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament for the second consecutive season, clinching the No. 3 seed and squaring off against Illinois Wesleyan University at Wheaton College's King Arena.
CCIW Tournament Schedule: Friday's second semifinal between No. 1 seed Wheaton College and No. 4 seed Elmhurst College is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet in Saturday's championship game at 7:00 p.m., also at King Arena.
Series History: Tonight marks the 66th meeting between the two teams, as Illinois Wesleyan holds the all-time series 40-25. However, the Cardinals are 4-1 in the last five meetings.
Each team won on their home court in 2016, as the Titans came away with a 78-66 win on Jan. 16, before the Cardinals responded with a 87-81 win on Feb. 6.
In the most recent contest, North Central outscored the Titans by 11 in the second half, led by
Therese Pettersson's 17 points off the bench.
Mayson Whipple added 15 points, while
Miranda Grizaffi finished with 12 and
Jamie Cuny led the team with 13 rebounds.
Five Titans finished in double figures, led by Molly McGraw's 17 points. Alina Lehocky and Maddie Merritt each finished with double-doubles, as Lehocky finished with 12 points and 11 board, while Merritt added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
This Week for the Cardinals: After a lackluster start to conference play, the Cardinals looked down and out until winning each of the last four contests, including a 11-point fourth quarter comeback win over North Park University in the regular season finale.
The Cardinals controlled their own destiny heading into the finale against North Park, as a win would seal a spot in the CCIW Tournament.
With all five Viking starters with four fouls in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals went away from their long range game and began attacking the basket in the form of
Mayson Whipple, as the sophomore guard took over, scoring 16 of her career-high 27 points in the final 10 minutes.
The Cardinals outscored the Vikings by 16 in the final quarter, led by Whipple's 27 points.
Lauren Hernandez finished with 20 points, including 10-of-10 shooting from the free throw line, tying for second on the single-game percentage list.
Whipple is leading the team averaging 12.8 points per game, while leading the conference averaging 5.2 assists per game. Pettersson is averaging 12.0 ppg, while Cuny averaging 10.1 ppg and leading the CCIW averaging 3.6 blocks per game. Cuny also leads the team averaging 8.1 rebounds per game.
North Central in the CCIW Tournament: The Cardinals are 1-3 all-time in the CCIW's postseason tournament, dating back to 2003. This mark's North Central's first time appearing in the tournament in consecutive years, with the program's lone victory coming last season in a 89-87 win over Elmhurst.
The Cardinals' only encounter with Illinois Wesleyan in the tournament came in North Central's first tournament appearance in 2009, falling 76-58 in Bloomington, Ill.
National Statistical Rankings: North Central currently leads all of NCAA Division III in scoring offense (95.2 ppg) and three-point field goals per game (14.2), while ranking second in rebounds per game (51.5), third in offensive rebounds per game (21.0) and fifth in assists per game (18.6).
Career Rankings: Multiple Cardinals rank in the program's individual career record book, as Cuny's 180 blocks rank her atop the all-time list. Grizaffi currently ranks second on the career three-point field goals list (155), while Wilson ranks third on the list with 142 made three-pointers. Wilson also ranks second on the three-point attempts list (505), while Grizaffi ranks third in career three-point attempts (481).
Lauren Hernandez currently ranks fifth in career three-point field goals (122) and three-point field goal attempts (389). Cuny currently sits tied for 10th on the career three-point field goals list with 92.
Anita Sterling just entered the career top-ten in three-point attempts, ranking 10th with 297, while Whipple's 189 career assists rank seventh all-time.
Single-Season Rankings: With her two made three-pointers against North Park in the regular-season finale,
Miranda Grizaffi tied Tracey Farrell's single-season record of 64 which stood for 15 years. Last season
Jamie Cuny and Grizaffi tied for the team lead with 49 made three-point field goals, while
Kimberly Wilson's 49 made three-pointers in 2013-14 also rank tied for fourth.
Grizaffi's 177 three-point attempts this season rank second on the single-season list, while her 170 attempts last season rank third. Wilson ranks sixth on the list with 159 attempts in 2013-14, while
Michaela Reedy's 153 attempts this season rank tied for ninth.
Cuny now holds the top two spots on the single-season blocked shots list, as her 91 in 2014-15 shattered the previous season-high of 52 set by Lindsay Feris in 1997-98, while her 89 blocks this season now sit second on the list.
Mayson Whipple recently entered the single-season assists top-ten, as her 129 this season rank her sixth.
Team Records: The Cardinals are just one blocked shot shy of tying the program's single-season record set last season of 141, while needing just 18 assists to tie the single-season mark of 484 also set last season. The team's 355 made three-pointers rank second to last season's 390, while the 1,287 rebounds amassed this season also ranks second behind the 2014-15 team's mark of 1,381.
