Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Box Score
Feb. 11, 2017 – The North Central College women's basketball team fell behind late in the first quarter and never recovered on Saturday night, dropping a 85-65 decision at the hands of Elmhurst College on Senior Night inside Gregory Arena.
North Central (11-11, 5-8 CCIW) held a 22-19 lead with 3:01 to play in the first quarter, as a
Paula Zerante three-pointer broke a 19 all tie, but Elmhurst responded with a 11-0 run to end the quarter, including a Kalia Summerlin three right before the buzzer.
The Bluejay (18-5, 10-4 CCIW) run continued into the second quarter as Kaela Jones and Mikaela Eppard each connected from close range to increase the Elmhurst lead to double digits, 34-22.
Elmhurst would lead by double figures the remainder of the contest, including a 28-point advantage at one point during the fourth quarter.
Zerante was the lone Cardinal to finish in double figures, finishing with 14 points, while
Kelly Wallner added eight and
Siarra O'Neil finished with seven.
Anita Sterling grabbed a team-leading six rebounds, while
Caroline Heimerdinger and
Shannon Ryan each dished out three assists.
The Bluejays assisted on 31-of-37 field goals on the evening, as Eppard led all scorers with 22 points and 15 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, while Jones added 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Michaela Kumer and Becca Gerke also finished in double figures, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.
North Central closes out the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 15, playing host to Carroll University at 7 p.m.