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

Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. (Feb. 11, 2021) – The North Central College women's basketball team dropped its sixth-straight game to begin the season, falling 74-62 to Millikin University on Thursday, spoiling a 13-point first-quarter lead.
 
The game could not have started any better for the Cardinals on both ends of the floor, holding Millikin scoreless over the first 4:47 of the contest while capitalizing on the offensive end to open the game on a 10-0 run.
 
Rebekah Foley opened the scoring with a jumper off an assist from Haydn Braun, followed by consecutive layups from Allison Pearson, Mitrese Smith and Page Desenberg, while Foley capped the run with a lay in of her own.
 
Later in the first quarter, Stephanie Kowalczyk knocked down a three-pointer and a layup on the Cardinals following possession to give North Central its largest lead of the contest, a 17-4 advantage at the 2:12 mark.
 
Holding a 31-21 lead with just over two minutes to play in the first half, the Cardinals allowed the Big Blue to get back into the game with a 6-0 run to end the half which gave the Big Blue momentum at the intermission.
 
The second half was all Millikin as the Big Blue broke a 42-42 tie with a 7-2 run at the end of the third quarter and never looked back.  North Central was outscored by 24 points over the final three quarters of the contest and was plagued by a season-high 26 turnovers.
 
Braun finished as the Cardinals' leading scorer with a season-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.  Pearson also finished in double figures with 10 points, while Smith finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
A balanced Big Blue offense featured four players in double figures, led by 22 points from Elyce Knudsen.  Abby Ratsch added 12 points off the bench, while Miranda Fox finished with 11 and Jazmin Brown chipped in 10.
 
The two teams are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 13 as Millikin makes the trip to Gregory Arena with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.