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Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Dec. 18, 2019) - Playing at Gregory Arena for the final time prior to taking an over two-week hiatus from their home floor, the North Central College women's basketball team faced a tough no. 20-ranked University of Chicago team on Wednesday, with the Maroons being sparked by two big runs on their way to taking game by an 80-52 final tally.

The Cardinals hung tough with Chicago (9-2) to begin the contest but saw themselves down 16-12 as the time ran out in the first quarter, holding the 20th-ranked Maroons to an 0-5 start from behind the arc.

On the other end of the floor, the Cardinals struggled to get shots to go, shooting only 25% for the quarter, but were able to get themselves at the free throw line more often than their opponents and took advantage, shooting 3-4 in the period.

Roles reversed in the second quarter as the Maroons found themselves at home at the charity stripe and shot a perfect 9-9 in the quarter. Chicago opened the frame on a 10-2 run and never looked back, outscoring North Central 23-13 and forcing seven turnovers in the quarter to go up 39-25 at the half. Klaire Steffens led the way for the big Chicago push in the quarter, scoring nine points with five coming by way of free throw.

The Cardinals on the other hand could not find their footing in the quarter, with only Lyndsay Brennan (eight) and Page Desenberg (five) putting points in the score column while the team shot 38.5% as a team through the period.

Following the break, the Cardinals found some success as they kept the gap relatively the same by again getting to the line and knocking down their free throws, shooting 8-12 from the line in the quarter.

Page Desenberg put up six points for the Cardinals in the period, shooting 2-3 from the field and 2-2 from the line, nearly halfing the team's total in the quarter. She finished the contest with a new season-high in points with 17, shooting 6-12 overall while hitting three of her six threes attempted.

The Maroons proved to be too much though, catching fire from deep, sparking a 16-3 run over the final minutes of the third to put the game nearly out of reach going into the final period.

With the score 67-39 going into the fourth, the teams played deep into their bench for a majority of the quarter, with the scoring being split 13-13 in the final 10-minute frame. Two late Cardinal free throws put the finishing touches on the scoreboard with the Maroons coming out on top with the 80-52 final.

Desenberg and Brennan were the top-two scorers for the Cardinals with 17 and 15, respectively while Brennan also led the team on the boards, grabbing six while Natali Dimitrova had five. Chicago had three players with double-digit points with Miranda Birt and Steffens dropping 14 a piece and Lucy Schmid putting in 12.

The Cardinals (4-6) head to California over the break, taking on Caltech on Dec. 29 and Whittier College on Dec. 30 before coming back to Naperville to face Wheaton College on Jan. 4.