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

Box Score

Feb. 25, 2021 – The North Central College women's basketball team hung with 13^th-ranked Wheaton College over the first three quarters on Thursday but fell just shy in its upset attempt to close out the regular season inside Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (2-9) held the lead a majority of the opening half, as Allison Pearson hit a three-pointer following a layup by IxChel Leeuwenburgh on the previous possession to quickly take a 5-1 advantage and led by as many as six in the opening half as a free throw from Pearson gave North Central a 26-20 lead with 4:22 to play in the second quarter.

The offense suddenly went cold in the closing minutes of the quarter, as Wheaton (10-1) closed the half on a 12-2 run to take its first lead of the contest 32-28 at halftime.

Catching fire out of the intermission, Rebekah Foley opened the third with a long ball followed by a pull-up jumper, before Pearson and Sadie Jurkovic each connected to regain the lead for North Central, 37-32.

The back-and-forth contest swung back in Wheaton's advantage as a 10-2 run over the next four minutes turned the tables once again to give the Thunder a slim 42-40 lead.

With the score all knotted at 48 after three quarters, the Cardinal offense dwindled down the stretch, scoring just three points over the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter to allow Wheaton to open up a 61-51 lead as the Thunder held the lead the entire final quarter.

The Cardinals connected on eight three-pointers on the evening to Wheaton's three, but were out-rebounded 41-31 and shot just 3-of-9 from the free throw line while the Thunder hit on 12-of-19 attempts from the line.

Pearson and Braun both finished in double figures for the Cardinals, as Pearson tied her season high with 21 points while dishing out six assists.  Braun added 12 points and four assists, while Leeuwenburgh turned in her third-straight double digit rebound game, grabbing a game-high 11.

Hannah Williams, Annie Tate and Lily Schwen combined for nearly 80 percent of Wheaton's scoring as the Thunder played just seven players on the evening.  Williams played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 24 points, while Tate finished with 19 and nine rebounds and Schwen added 12 points and six assists.

North Central travels to Wheaton for the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 27 with tip-off inside King Arena slated for 2 p.m.  Links to live in-game coverage are available HERE.