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

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. (Dec. 7, 2019) – Another slow start plagued the North Central College women's basketball team on Saturday, falling to 0-2 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play with a 68-58 loss at North Park University.

A pair of free throws from Lyndsay Brennan gave North Central an early 9-6 lead with 4:39 to play in the opening quarter, but a three-pointer from Angelina Villasin evened the score on the Vikings next possession.

With the scored tied 11-11, North Park (7-0, 2-0 CCIW) went on a 12-2 run to open up a double-digit lead three minutes into the second quarter.

Facing a 38-24 deficit coming out of halftime, the Cardinals rallied to go on a run of their own, as Natali Dimitrova knocked down a pair of free throws ahead of jumpers from Brennan and Haydn Braun cut the lead to single digits.  Brennan then capped the 8-0 run with another jumper in the lane to trim the Viking lead 38-32.

A few possessions later, Allison Pearson hit two free throws then scored on an uncontested layup the following trip down the court to cut North Park's lead further 40-36.

That proved to be as close as North Central would come to overtaking the lead, as two layups from Villasin and a three-pointer from Sinead Molloy increased the Viking lead back to double figures 47-37.

Every time the Cardinals drew to within single digits in the final quarter the Vikings responded to increase the lead back to 10 or more, doing so on seven different occasions.

Pearson was the high-scorer for North Central on the evening with 11 points to go along with a team-leading five rebounds, while Brennan finished with 10 points and a pair of blocked shots.

18 points and nine rebounds from Jayla Johnson led North Park, while Villasin also finished in double figures with 11 points off the bench.

North Central (3-5, 0-2 CCIW) has a week off before hitting the road again, traveling to Elmhurst College on Saturday, Dec. 14 with tip-off inside R.A. Faganel Hall at 2 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.

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