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

Box Score

Jan. 2, 2019 – Returning home for the first time in nearly a month, the North Central College women's basketball team found itself on the wrong end of a 72-65 final on Wednesday evening inside Gregory Arena, falling to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Carroll University despite forcing 19 turnovers on defense.

Despite the defensive effort, the Cardinal (3-11, 1-4 CCIW) offense struggled to find its groove all evening long, shooting just 33 percent from the field.  The defense also contained the Pioneers from beyond the arc on 3-of-16 shooting, but Carroll finished the contest shooting over 51 percent from inside three-point range.

After trailing by just two at the intermission, a Maya Walls three-pointer gave North Central its first lead of the second half, a 44-41 advantage with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter, but five consecutive misses allowed the Pioneers to regain the lead on a Alyssa Cruz three-pointer two minutes later.

Natali Dimitrova then tied the game once again with a pair of free throws before Carroll went on a 10-4 run to close the quarter, proving to be the difference in the contest as North Central never led from that point forward.

North Central pulled to within five points of the lead late as Carroll led by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, but five straight free throws from Cruz sealed the victory for the Pioneers in the closing seconds.

Dimitrova finished with a team-high 16 points and six rebounds, while Allison Pearson finished with a career-high 15 points and Alanna Newsome added 14.  Tyonne Howard handed out four assists to go along with nine points.

Sierra Grubor paced the Carroll offense with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Cruz finished with 14.  Emily Majerus and Katie Rossetti also finished in double figures with 12 and 13 points, respectively.

Continuing a stretch of three-straight home games, North Central plays host to Elmhurst College on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 5 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.