Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
WHEATON, Ill. (Dec. 2, 2023) - A late fourth quarter run by the North Central College women's basketball team, which brought them within one point, wasn't enough on Saturday night as Wheaton College held on to beat the Cardinals, 70-63.
Kaeli Ford began the game with a made layup on the Cardinals' opening possession. Taking a 5-2 lead early on, Jovanna Martinucci split a pair of free throws with 6:47 to go in the first quarter. A 10-0 run for the thunder gave Wheaton a 13-9 edge after 10 minutes of play.
Megan Duffy hit a jumper before Grace Kieffer knocked down the Cardinals first three pointer of the game to make the score 17-14. Again Wheaton responded to take a double-digit lead midway through the period. Both teams traded baskets as Kennedy Hartwig converted a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to make the score 35-26 at the break.
After going down by 16-points, a 9-0 run from North Central, thanks to six straight points from Jocelyn Trotter, kept the Cardinals in the game. Trotter forced a Thunder turnover and converted the fastbreak layup as Wheaton held a 52-40 lead heading into the final quarter.
Continuing her hot stretch, Trotter sank a deep ball to begin the fourth quarter. Bringing North Central within six, Kieffer made two free throws with 2:39 to play. Kieffer buried a shot from beyond the arc, making the score 61-59 before Caroline Sikkink converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Kieffer answered with another three-pointer. Jovanna Martinucci picked up a steal to allow Duffy to draw a shooting foul, sending her to the line with a chance to tie the contest. Duffy split the free throws to bring the Cardinals within one, 64-63. Wheaton scored the final six points of the game to claim the victory, 70-63.
Duffy scored a career-high 19 points in the game with four rebounds and three assists. Kieffer added 17 points with a perfect 6-6 mark at the charity stripe. Trotter scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half to go along with her five rebounds. Sikkink led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals return home to Gregory Arena on Wednesday as they welcome Carthage College to campus for a 7 p.m. tipoff. North Central won 71-62 in the most recent matchup of the two squads.
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