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

Box Score

WHEATON, Ill. (Nov. 18, 2017) – In a game much like the season opener the night prior, the North Central College women's basketball team was stymied by a tough third quarter en route to a 75-67 defeat at the hands of Lake Forest College on Saturday in the final day of the Beth Baker Classic inside Wheaton College's King Arena.
 
The first quarter was controlled by Lake Forest but the Cardinals held close to overtake the lead at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter, as a three-pointer from Siarra O'Neil broke a 20-20 tie, giving North Central its first lead since the 7:40 mark of the opening quarter.
 
North Central (0-2) took a 32-31 lead into the intermission, but came out slow to start the second half, missing on their first six field goal attempts, while the Foresters (1-2) came roaring back to the tune of a 17-3 run to quickly take a 13-point lead 48-35 with 2:27 to play in the third.
 
The Cardinals were outscored 24-9 in the third quarter and faced an 18-point deficit early in the fourth, but the offense battled back to pull to within six of the lead as Michaela Reedy hit from beyond the arc and Haydn Braun knocked down four free throws to trim the Forester lead 65-59 with 4:37 to play.
 
That proved to be as close as the Cardinals would come however, as Lake Forest knocked down 6-of-7 clutch free throws in the last two minutes to seal the win.
 
Maya Walls finished with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double to lead the Cardinal offense, while O'Neil finished the high-scorer with 11 points.  Mayson Whipple and Andrea Dickerson also each added 10 points, while Reedy dished out four assists and captured three steals on defense.
 
Hannah O'Day and Molly Schoenlein paced the Forester offense with 17 points apiece, while Schoenlein grabbed 14 rebounds.  Kelsey Burton also finished with a double-double, tallying a game-high 15 boards to go along with 12 points and four steals.
 
North Central opens the home portion of the schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 21, hosting Colorado College inside Gregory Arena with tip-off slated for 5 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.