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

Box Score

Jan. 25, 2021 – The North Central College women's basketball team found itself on the wrong end of a 55-53 overtime battle with North Park University on Monday in a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) battle inside Gregory Arena.

Trailing 53-51 with under 30 seconds to play in overtime, Haydn Braun found Page Desenberg down low on a beautiful pass for the game-tying layup, but left the Vikings enough time for one last attempt.

Following a timeout, North Park set up all-conference forward Jayla Johnson to take the final shot and the junior delivered the dagger, knocking down a 10-footer with just two second remaining on the clock while North Central's last second attempt fell just short as time expired.

Both teams struggled to maintain any momentum on the offensive end all evening long, combining for 51 turnovers and 41 total fouls.  North Central (0-2) had to dig itself out of an early 14-0 hole, missing its first 10 field goal attempts before IxChel Leeuwenburgh tallied the first two points at the 3:42 mark of the opening quarter.

Trailing by 11 to begin the second, North Central's defense put up a stand, while the offense found its groove behind a pair of three-pointers from Braun and another from Allison Pearson.  Holding the Vikings to only seven points in the quarter, the Cardinals closed the half with a pair of free throws from Pearson and a lay-in from Braun to take a 26-24 lead into the intermission.

The Cardinals came out firing the third quarter as well, quickly taking a 31-24 lead following a three-pointer from Desenberg and put-back layup from Mitrese Smith.

Two possessions layer, Pearson knocked down another long ball to increase the Cardinal lead to nine, the largest lead of the contest for North Central.

Holding a 46-37 lead with 8:57 to play in the contest, the Cardinals seemed to be in control of the game, however the offense went cold once again, managing just one point the rest of regulation.  The Cardinals were held to just five points in the fourth quarter, allowing the Vikings to end the quarter on a 10-1 run to force overtime.

Three Cardinals scored in double figures, led by 12 from Braun and 11 from Pearson and Desenberg.  Pearson and Megan McClure each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team, while Braun added five assists and three steals, and Rebekah Foley led all players with a career-high four blocked shots.

Johnson led all scorers on the evening with a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double.  Chantal Hariston also finished in double figures with 11 points, while Esther Miller added nine points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

North Central returns to play on Thursday, Jan. 28, traveling to Augustana College with tip-off inside the Carver Center scheduled for 7 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.