Contact: Adam Poklop, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Dec. 5, 2018) - Aided by dominant play down the stretch, the North Central College women's basketball team disposed of Augustana College 69-58 to earn its first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) win of the season Wednesday night.

North Central held the upper hand early, opening the game on a 13-3 run, capped off by a three-pointer from freshman Allison Pearson. The Cardinals held the lead until the 7:30 mark in the second quarter, when the Vikings tied the game at 16 a piece. North Central swiftly responded by exploding into a 14-3 run to restore their lead to double digits and momentarily suck the energy out of Augustana.

Although the Cardinals led by as many as 12 points two minutes into the third quarter, by the start of the fourth quarter their lead had all but evaporated. Up six with 1:17 left, North Central suffered a 10-second backcourt violation before surrendering a three-point play and a layup on consecutive possessions to end the quarter. The Vikings scored the first points of the fourth quarter, taking the lead for the first time since scoring the game's first points.

Although Augustana pushed their lead to 54-48 with 7:20 left in the game, North Central's distance shooting provided the necessary spark. Hannah Vitkus connected on a three-pointer, as did Lyndsay Brennan on the next possession to bring the Cardinals even. After trading a couple of baskets, the game was tied with 3:48 left. But Brennan knocked down another three-pointer to reclaim the lead, which they wouldn't yield. The Cardinals held the Vikings scoreless in the game's final three minutes, while dropping in 11 points—including five from Tyonne Howard—to cruise to an 11-point victory.  

Howard scored a game-high 21 points for North Central, while tallying five assists and five boards. Alana Newsome added 15 points, while Vitkus recorded her first career double-double on 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Alexis Jones led Augustana scorers with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Izzy Anderson scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

North Central (2-4, 1-1 CCIW) continues conference play on Saturday as they host Millikin University (2-6, 1-1 CCIW). Tip off at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 5 p.m.