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

Box Score

Nov. 26, 2019 – After a tightly contested first half in which both teams struggled on the offensive end, the shooting woes continued into the second half for the North Central College women's basketball team in a 70-56 loss at the hands of non-conference rival Benedictine University on Tuesday inside Gregory Arena.

The North Central defense held the Eagles (3-1) to just 19 percent shooting from the floor in the first half including a 0-for-10 showing from three-point range, but still trailed 24-22 as Benedictine made 10-of-11 free throws to the Cardinals 3-for-3 in the opening half.

Despite shooting 31 percent from the field in the first half, the Cardinals were plagued by 12 turnovers while only shooting 1-for-12 from beyond the arc themselves.

Benedictine opened the third quarter on a quick 6-0 run before Allison Pearson cut the lead down to five with a three-pointer, but the Eagles responded right back with a 13-2 run this time to extend the lead to 16, 43-27 with just over five minutes to play in the quarter.

North Central (3-3) shot just over 17 percent from the field in the third, while the Eagles capitalized to shoot 8-of-17 (47%) in the quarter and led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter en route to the double-digit final margin.

Pearson was the lone Cardinal to finish in double figures, leading the team with 16 points and three assists.  Lyndsay Brennan finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Haydn Braun added seven points and a team-leading six rebounds.

Allison Michalski and Alex Fanning were forces to be reckoned with for the Eagles, combining for over half of Benedictine's points, as Fanning finished with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Michalski led all scorers with 20 points.  Britney Pitzer and Elisa Diorio also finished in double figures, tallying 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Cardinals close out the current five-game homestand and begin College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play on Wednesday, Dec. 4, playing host to 21^st-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University at 7 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.

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