Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
AURORA, Ill. (Nov. 16, 2022) - The Cardinals' 23-point fourth quarter comeback attempt fell short as the North Central College women's basketball team lost 72-67 on Wednesday evening to the Aurora University Spartans.
Natalie Stavropoulos opened the scoring as she hit a jumper in the paint for the first points of the game. After Megan McClure knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals a 6-5 advantage, the Spartans went on a 6-0 run. Grace Kieffer knocked down a three with a minute left in the first quarter, but the Spartans held a 27-15 lead.
Back-to-back layups from McClure followed by a three-pointer from Lexie Hernandez closed the gap to eight, 32-24 in the second quarter. Molly Murray converted an old-fashioned three-point play before hitting a three-pointer from beyond the arc to bring North Central within six. The Spartans hit a layup to take an eight-point advantage into halftime, 38-30.
The teams traded baskets through the majority of the third quarter as a field goal from Hernandez brought the Cardinals back within five points, 48-43. Aurora closed out the quarter on a 7-1 run and a 55-44 lead after 30 minutes of play.
The fourth quarter began with a Murray three-pointer and a Sydney Erwin field goal. Following a run from the Spartans, Abby Davidson made both free throws to cut the deficit to single digits, 67-59 with 3:28 to go. After Stavropoulos knocked down three free throws and Kieffer hit a three, the Spartans called a timeout, only holding a five-point lead, 70-65. The Cardinals got a stop on defense and Stavropoulos hit a jumper to make it a one-possession game. North Central forced an Aurora turnover with 24-seconds left but was unable to capitalize on the next possession as the Spartans knocked down a pair of late free throws to secure the game, 72-67.
McClure finished the night with a double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds), the first of her career while Stavropoulos and Kieffer totaled 13 points. As a team, they shot 35% from the field.
North Central is back in action on Saturday as they visit the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers at 2 p.m. in Berg Gymnasium.
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