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

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. (Dec. 18, 2017) – Beginning a stretch of four straight road games, the North Central College women's basketball team ran into a tough non-conference opponent in the University of Chicago on Monday, falling 89-62 inside the Ratner Center.
 
Chicago (7-2) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but North Central (2-8) battled back behind a jumper from Mayson Whipple and a layup from Page Desenberg after an offensive rebound trimmed the score 7-6.
 
With 5:29 remaining in the opening quarter, Haydn Braun made one of two free throws to tie the score at seven, while Lyndsay Brennan knocked down a pair of freebies to give the Cardinals a 9-7 advantage.
 
The two teams battled back-and-forth over the next three minutes when Braun knocked down two more free throws to give North Central a 15-13 lead, but the Maroons closed out the final two minutes of the first quarter on a 7-1 run to take back the lead 20-16.
 
Chicago carried that momentum into the second quarter, outscoring North Central, 26-12, increasing the lead 46-28 at halftime and would lead by double digits the rest of the contest.
 
Braun and Brennan each recorded 10 points to lead the Cardinals offensively, while Siarra O'Neil added nine and Desenberg finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Olariche Obi finished with a 17-point, 14-rebound performance for the Maroons, while Mia Farrell finished as the high scorer with 18 points.  Taylor Lake and Marissa Igunbor also finished in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
North Central returns to action on Friday, Dec. 19, taking on 19^th-ranked Trinity University (Texas) at the University of Texas-Dallas Classic with tip-off at 12 p.m.