Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Box Score
WHEATON, Ill. (Feb. 27, 2021) – In similar fashion to Thursday's matchup, the North Central College women's basketball team kept pace with 13
th-ranked Wheaton College for three quarters on Saturday but ran out of gas in the end, falling 73-58 in the regular season finale.
In a contest featuring eight ties and nine lead changes, the Cardinals battled back and forth with the Thunder, taking a slight lead with 3:06 to play in the third quarter as a
Rebekah Foley layup gave North Central a 41-39 advantage.
On Wheaton's following possession, Annie Tate grabbed an offensive rebound and completed a three-point play the old fashioned way, sparking a 11-4 Thunder run to end the quarter and take a five-point lead into the fourth.
IxChel Leeuwenburgh opened the fourth quarter with a layup off an assist from
Haydn Braun to cut the lead to three but another Thunder run, this time a 9-1 rally extended the Cardinal deficit 59-48, ending North Central's bid at an upset.
Three Cardinals finished in double figures, led by 13 points from each of
Allison Pearson and
Mitrese Smith, while Leeuwenburgh added 11 points and a team-leading six rebounds.
Tate led all scorers with 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, while Bonnie Zeller also finished in double figures with 11 points.
North Central will be the No. 9 seed in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament and will take on eighth-seeded Carthage College on Tuesday, Mar. 2 inside Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. with tip-off TBA.
