Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
MEQUON, Wis. (Nov. 15, 2023) - Traveling back up to Wisconsin following a weekend tournament in Milwaukee, the North Central College women's basketball team fell in a tightly contested matchup to Concordia University Wisconsin, 59-52 on Wednesday night.
The two teams traded baskets early before Grace Kieffer and Megan McClure contributed to a 9-0 Cardinal run to push the North Central lead to five, 10-5. McClure knocked down her first three-pointer of the young season before Josylin Doxie-Simmons and Jocelyn Trotter each scored a bucket to give the Cardinals an 18-14 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
The Falcons came out firing in the second quarter to retake the lead as a McClure layup put a stop to the run. Again both teams went back and forth as back-to-back layups from Megan Duffy brought North Central within two, 27-25 with 4:30 to play in the first half. With under a minute left, Duffy again hit a shot to bring the halftime score to 33-29, Concordia Wisconsin holding a slight lead.
Both teams stepped up defensively to begin the third quarter as Keli Ford ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought. After the Falcons went up by seven, McClure hit another deep ball to keep the Cardinals in the game. Simmons-Doxie knocked down a free throw to bring North Central within three, 40-37 before the Falcons scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 44-37 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Duffy made three layups and a three-pointer to stop a Concordia Wisconsin rally, making the score 52-46. With 1:16 to play, Katie Schaible made a three before McClure hit a jumper to make the contest a one-possession game, 54-51. The Falcons hit five of the six free throws down the stretch to clinch a 59-52 victory.
Duffy and McClure each totaled 16 points while Duffy grabbed six rebounds as well for the Cardinals. Simmons-Doxie and Kieffer each scored five. As a team, North Central shot 32% from the field. Aubrey DeBauch scored 16 points for the Falcons.
The Cardinals' home opener is on Saturday as they welcome Saint Mary's College (Ind.) to Naperville. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.
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