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

Box Score

Feb. 8, 2020 – The North Central College women's basketball team erased a double-digit deficit but could not pull out the comeback, dropping a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) meeting with Elmhurst College, 65-56 on Senior Night inside Gregory Arena.

After managing just six points in the first quarter, North Central (9-12, 5-7 CCIW) trailed 18-8 early in the second but managed to pull to within three at halftime as a pair of free throws from each of Maya Walls and Allison Pearson cut the Bluejay lead 27-24.

The Cardinals finally overtook the Elmhurst lead just before the end of the third quarter, as Pearson connected from three-point range before knocking down two more free throws to give North Central a 43-41 lead.

That proved to be the last lead for the Cardinals however, as Elmhurst (8-14, 3-10 CCIW) broke open a 45-45 tie with three-straight baskets from Becca Gerke to re-gain the lead for good.

Pearson led all scorers with 19 points, including 9-of-10 shooting from the free throw line, while also adding a team-high four assists.  Walls also finished in double figures with 11 points, while Natali Dimitrova added eight.  Dimitrova and Walls also each recorded a blocked shot, moving Dimitrova into eighth in program history with 65 career blocks and Walls moves into 10th with 51.

Courtney O'Donnell paced the Bluejays with a 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Gerke also added a double-double, tallying 10 points and 10 boards. 

North Central closes out the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 12, hosting Augustana College at 7 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are 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.