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

Box Score

Jan. 25, 2020 – With a chance to win the game on the final possession, the North Central College women's basketball team fell just short on Saturday against Millikin University, spoiling a double-digit lead en route to a heartbreaking 74-73 loss inside Gregory Arena.

In a game featuring nine lead changes and six ties, North Central held a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter as a Haydn Braun layup gave the Cardinals a 67-64 lead with 3:20 to play.

Following a Millikin three-pointer on the next possession, Braun regained the lead right back with a jumper from short range, breaking a 67-67 tie.

The Big Blue (12-6, 5-4 CCIW) responded yet again two possessions later, a Miranda Fox knocked down a triple to overtake the Cardinal lead but just like the previous two North Central possessions, Braun came up clutch by nailing a jumper on the baseline, putting the Cardinals back on top 71-70 with 1:40 remaining in the contest.

With just over a minute to play, Abby Ratsch regained the lead for Millikin with a layup down low, but the Cardinals clawed back two possessions later as Allison Pearson cut to the basket and layed one in with 22 seconds to play while simultaneously giving the Cardinals a 73-72 advantage.

Millikin then fed the ball down low as they had all game, with Ratsch connecting on what proved to be the game-winning layup with just seven seconds on the clock. 

Following a North Central timeout, a last second jumped in the lane off the hand of Pearson fell just short as time expired.

North Central (8-10, 4-5 CCIW) led nearly the entire first half as both teams struggled to maintain any rhythm with 31 total fouls called and 45 free throws attempted by the two teams.  North Central shot 13-of-22 from the line in the first half but did not attempt a free throw in the second half, while Millikin shot 15-of-23 in the first half and finished the game 22-of-35 from the line.

Despite the difference in free throw shooting, North Central led by as many as 10 at one point, holding a 50-40 lead just over three minutes into the third quarter, but shot just 3-of-13 from three-point range in the second half compared to 5-of-7 in the first half.

Pearson led the offense with 21 points, while Braun finished with a career-high 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.  Page Desenberg added nine points and a team-leading four assists, while Lyndsay Brennan also added nine points.

Jordan Hildebrand led all players with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 8-of-13 shooting from the free throw line.  Ratsch also finished in double figures with 12 points while Aubrey Staton and Briana Anthony both tallied nine points.

With a week break in the schedule, North Central returns home next Saturday, Feb. 1, hosting North Park University at 5 p.m. Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.

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