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

Box Score

WHEATON, Ill. (Feb. 22, 2020) – Despite dropping the regular-season finale 72-65 at Wheaton College on Saturday, the North Central College women's basketball team will still qualify for the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament by virtue of results of other contests around the conference.

With Carthage College's loss at Illinois Wesleyan University, North Central (11-14, 7-9 CCIW) clinches the sixth seed in next week's CCIW Tournament, qualifying for the conference tournament for the fifth time in program history (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016) and the first time under head coach Maggie McCloskey-Bax.

Wheaton (19-6, 12-4 CCIW) jumped out to an early double digit lead as North Central struggled offensively early on, falling in a 15-4 hole to begin the game.

After Stephanie Kowalczyk cut the Thunder lead to single digits with a three-pointer right before the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals proceeded to go on a 11-1 run to begin the second quarter to overtake the lead for the first time 18-16.  Jessica Kowalczyk scored eight of the 11 points during the run including a pair of long balls, while Rebekah Foley also hit from beyond the arc.

Wheaton scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 30-26 lead into halftime, but the Cardinals fought back to once re-gain the lead as Haydn Braun gave North Central a 36-34 advantage with a three-pointer at the 6:28 mark of the third quarter.

That lead was quickly erased however, as Kirsten Madsen countered with a three on the other end and sparked a 9-0 Thunder run.

Trailing 58-49, North Central refused to go down without a fight as a jumper from Allison Pearson and a three-point play the old fashioned way from Jessica Kowalczyk suddenly cut the Thunder lead to just four with 4:48 to play in the contest.

Following a Wheaton turnover, Stephanie Kowalczyk trimmed the lead even further with a layup to cap a quick 7-0 Cardinal run to pull to within two, 58-56.

Hannah Frazier ended the Thunder drought with a layup on the following possession, before Maya Walls knocked down one of two free throws and Natali Dimitrova connected from down low to suddenly pull the Cardinals to within one with 2:30 to play.

With the pressure looming on the Thunder, Kristi Demski gave Wheaton some breathing room with a clutch three-pointer before Hannah Williams extended the Thunder lead 65-59 on the next possession with just over a minute to play and sink the Cardinal comeback attempt.

Jessica Kowalczyk led North Central with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Dimitrova finished with a 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.  Pearson also finished in double figures, scoring in double digits in nine of the last 10 games.

Frazier led all players with 22 points, also leading the Thunder with nine rebounds, while Madsen finished with 16 points including 3-of-4 from three-point range.  Hannah Swider also finished in double figures for the Thunder with 11 points, while Jill Berg tallied a game-high four blocked shots.

North Central will travel to third-seeded North Park University in the opening round of the CCIW Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 25 with tip-off inside North Park Gymnasium scheduled for 7 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage will be available HERE.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.