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

Box Score

Feb. 12, 2020 – Overcoming a slow start, the North Central College women's basketball erased a double-digit first-quarter deficit to claw out a 56-54 battle over Augustana College on Wednesday to stay alive for a spot in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament.

Augustana (11-12, 6-8 CCIW) opened the game on a 16-5 run and seemed in control early as the Cardinals struggled to get anything going on offense.

Still trailing by 11 at the 8:50 mark of the second quarter, the offense roared to life, going on a 17-4 run over the remainder of the quarter as consecutive three-pointers from Allison Pearson and another from Rebekah Foley highlighted the run.

Pearson then gave the Cardinals their first lead of the contest just before halftime, driving to the basket for an easy lay-in to put North Central ahead 28-24.

Holding a slim 32-31 lead early in the third, back-to-back layups from Pearson and Maya Walls, followed by a three-pointer and layup from Natali Dimitrova opened up a quick nine-point advantage for the Cardinals while forcing an Augustana timeout.

The Vikings slowly chipped away at the lead from that point forward and used a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter to suddenly overtake the lead 48-47.

That lead lasted all of 30 seconds for the Vikings as Haydn Braun splashed consecutive long balls to regain the lead 53-48 with just over five minutes to play in what proved to be the dagger in the end.

The Cardinal defense held the Vikings to nearly 16 points below their season average and with the win North Central jumps a half game ahead of the Vikings in the CCIW standings, currently sitting in the fifth spot.

Leading the team in scoring six of the last seven games, Pearson led all scorers with 17 points on the evening, to go along with six rebounds and three assists.  Braun finished with 15 points, shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, while Walls added eight points and a team-leading seven rebounds.

A pair of Vikings finished with a double-double, led by 15 points and 10 rebounds from Lauren Hall, while Alexis Jones finished with 10 points and 14 boards.

North Central (10-12, 6-7 CCIW) hits the road for the final three games of the regular season, traveling to Carroll University on Saturday, Feb. 15 with tip-off inside Van Male Fieldhouse scheduled for 2 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.
 
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