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

Box Score

WHEATON, Ill. (Feb. 26, 2016) – The North Central College women's basketball team struggled out of the gate and never regained its composure in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament semifinal against Illinois Wesleyan University, falling 96-84 inside Wheaton College's King Arena.

The difference in the contest came on the glass and at the free throw line, as the Titans held a 68-44 lead in rebounding, including a 28-18 advantage on the offensive glass.  North Central held Illinois Wesleyan to 0-for-11 shooting from three-point range, but the Titans held remarkable 28-8 advantage from the free throw line.  Illinois Wesleyan finished 28-of-38 from the charity stripe, while North Central finished 8-of-13.

The Cardinals (14-12) never led in the contest, as the Titans (17-9) jumped out to a 31-18 lead after the opening quarter.  Trailing 16-10 at the 4:19 mark, the Cardinals succumbed to a 10-1 Illinois Wesleyan run over the next two minutes, as the Titans increased the lead 26-11.

The offensive onslaught continued for the Titans to open the second quarter, as a 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch gave Illinois Wesleyan its largest lead of the contest, a 45-23 lead with 5:34 to play in the first half.

The Cardinals did not go down lightly however, battling back to close out the half on a 15-5 run to shrink the Titan lead to a manageable 12-points heading into the break.
Back-to-back layups by Therese Pettersson and a three-pointer from Anita Sterling cut the Titan lead 52-45 coming out of the half, but Illinois Wesleyan responded right back with seven-straight points to increase the lead back to double-figures.

North Central held tough down the stretch but just could not get over the hump, as the Cardinals trimmed the lead down to six points, 90-84 with 1:03 to play in the contest, but it was too little too late for North Central as the Titans sealed the contest from the free throw line late.

Mayson Whipple led the Cardinal offense with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field to go along with a team-leading six assists.  Caroline Heimerdinger added 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arch, while Anita Sterling finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and finishing with a game-high 13 rebounds.

Jamie Cuny finished with a game-high six blocks, increasing her season total to 95, breaking her own single-season program record of 91 set last season in two fewer games.  Miranda Grizaffi's fourth quarter three-pointer broke the program's 15-year old single-season record of 64 set in 2001.

Five Titans finished in double-figures, led by Molly McGraw's 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field.  Rebekah Ehresman finished with a double-double, adding 16 points and 12 boards.