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

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Feb. 18, 2017) – Knocking off College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday inside the Shirk Center, the North Central College women's basketball team hit 15 three-pointers en route to the 89-86 victory.
 
In a back and forth contest featuring five lead changes and 10 ties, the two teams were knotted at 80 with 4:49 to play in the contest when Natali Dimitrova hit back-to-lack layups to suddenly give North Central a 84-80 lead.
 
The Titans (17-7, 12-3 CCIW) clawed back to within one however on a Molly McGraw layup with 1:35 to play, forcing a Cardinal timeout.
 
After each team failed to connect on the next possession, Anita Sterling drove to the basket and layed in the most important of her 13 points with just 19 seconds to play, increasing the Cardinal lead 86-83.
 
A big defensive stop on the Titans next possession led to a pair of free throws for Sterling, as the senior hit one of two but Paula Zerante was able to knock down a pair on the next Cardinal possession to put the game out of reach 89-83.
 
North Central connected on 15-of-43 three-point attempts to outlast the Titans despite suffering a 21-12 margin in turnovers.
 
Zerante finished one rebound shy of a double-double, leading the Cardinal offense with 16 points and nine boards, while Sterling added 13 points and five rebounds.  Jessica Dahle finished 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Jamie Cuny added three blocks on the defensive end.
 
Maddie Merritt led the Illinois Wesleyan offense with 22 points, while Rebekah Ehresman finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and five assists.
 
North Central (13-11, 7-8 CCIW) closes out the season on Tuesday, Feb. 21, traveling to Augustana College with tip-off at 7 p.m.