Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

AURORA, Ill. (Nov. 20, 2024) - Returning to Illinois for the final away contest of their four-game road-stand, the North Central College women's basketball team dropped a non-conference battle to Aurora University, 83-63 on Wednesday night inside Thornton Gymnasium.

Biz Daly opened the scoring with a jumper in the paint after two minutes of scoreless action by both teams. The Spartans scored the next 11 points before Josylin Simmons-Doxie converted a pair of free throws with 3:46 to play in the first quarter. Grace Kieffer used a layup with 15 seconds left to cut the Cardinal deficit to five, 13-8 at the end of the opening quarter.

Ameli Sanchez scored off of an Aurora turnover before Jocelyn Trotter put North Central within a possession on a second-chance jumper, 15-12. Kieffer put the Cardinals ahead by one on a layup, 16-15 with 6:24 to go in the first half. Trotter forced a Spartan turnover with a steal and converted a fastbreak layup. The teams traded baskets as a Trotter jumper evened the contest at 28-28 with under a minute to play in the second quarter. At the break, Aurora held a 32-28 advantage.

Kieffer and Simmons-Doxie scored quickly into the third quarter to knot the game at 32. The Spartans opened up a nine-point lead midway through the period. Sanchez took advantage of a Trotter offensive rebound to score a layup. Bringing the Cardinals within six, Trotter hit a layup. With 10 minutes to play, the Spartans held a 59-50 edge.

Aurora scored the first nine points of the final quarter as Daly halted the run with a basket in the paint, assisted by Megan McClure.  Kennedy Hartwig, Kaitlin Park and Katie Schaible each scored down the stretch, but Aurora claimed an 83-63 victory.

Daly led North Central with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Trotter totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and three assists. The Cardinals shot 39% on the night, with a 47% mark in the second quarter. Thirty-eight of the 63 points scored by North Central happened in the paint. 

North Central plays its home opener on Tuesday evening as the Cardinals host Benedictine University. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. inside of Gregory Arena.

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