Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
MEQUON, Wis. (Nov. 17, 2021) - Falling to 2-2 on the young season, the North Central College women's basketball team lost a tightly contested battle to Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) 74-70 in the final minute of play inside Buuck Field House on Wednesday night.
Finding themselves down by 10 early in the contest, Allison Pearson made a layup to decrease the Falcon lead. Elle Sutter added a bucket with 2:32 left in the opening quarter before CUW went on an 8-0 run to end the quarter.
Looking to even the score, a free throw from IxChel Leeuwenburgh sparked a 10-1 Cardinal rally to put North Central back in the game. With 1:47 left to play in the first half, Stephanie Kowalczyk's layup gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game, 29-28. Sutter's layup with four seconds left in the half put North Central up 34-30 heading into the break.
CUW knotted the contest at 34-34 a minute into the third quarter. After back-and-forth action, Pearson put the Cardinals on top 46-39 with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter. Each team traded buckets for the rest of the quarter as North Central held a 53-47 edge going into the final quarter.
Natalie Stavropoulos added a jumper to increase the Cardinal advantage to nine, 59-50 with 8:28 to go. The Falcons answered and tied the game at 61 with just under five minutes left in regulation. Mitrese Smith regained the Cardinal lead with a layup before CUW took a one-point advantage, 67-68. With 16-seconds left, Pearson knocked down North Central's lone three-pointer, bringing the Cardinals within one, 70-71. The Falcons held on to earn a 74-70 victory.
Pearson was the top-scoring Cardinal with 20 points, as Leeuwenburgh and Stavropoulos each added nine points. As a team, North Central shot 42% from the field and 63% from the free-throw line. Emily Hafemann of CUW scored a game-high 25 points, followed by Reagan Obry with 12.
The Cardinals stay on the road this weekend as they visit Concordia University Chicago on Saturday at 2 PM inside of Geiseman Gymnasium. You can find live video and live stat links to that game HERE.
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