Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Nov. 26, 2024 - Superior inside play and opportunistic defense enabled the North Central College women's basketball team to enjoy a comfortable victory in its home opener Tuesday, as the Cardinals defeated Benedictine University, 76-63, at Gregory Arena.

North Central (3-2) leaned on Biz Daly and Jocelyn Trotter for 46 of the team's points as the pair shot a combined 20 of 30 from the floor. Daly tied a career high with 26 points, while Trotter put up season highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds.

The hosts broke the game open with a 26-point third quarter, during which they shot 64.7 percent (11 of 17) from the field. The Cardinals scored 21 points off of 13 Benedictine turnovers and turned away a late comeback attempt by outscoring the Eagles, 12-4, over the final six minutes.

North Central led throughout after opening the game with a 12-4 surge in the first six minutes of play. The lead expanded to 27-16 with 4:06 before halftime when a brief Eagle rally closed the gap to 33-28 at halftime. 

Daly scored 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting in the third quarter as the hosts' advantage grew to 18 points at 57-39 after Kennedy Hartwig's layup off a steal by Joslyn Simmons-Doxie. Benedictine (2-2) narrowed the spread to 59-43 by the end of the third quarter and made 5 of 6 from the floor in the first four minutes of the fourth period to cut North Central's lead to 62-55 and prompt a Cardinal timeout.

Following the break, Daly cut along the baseline for a layup off a pass from Grace Kieffer, then spun for a left-handed hook shot to push the lead back to double figures. Trotter followed with a three-point play before finding Daly for another layin to neutralize the threat.

The Cardinals finished the night 32 of 63 shooting from the floor (50.8 percent) with a 42-33 rebounding advantage. Kieffer finished with a game-high seven assists while Hartwig and Simmons-Doxie each scored nine points.

North Central hosts Concordia University Wisconsin Saturday at 5:00 p.m.Click HERE for the full 2024-2025 schedule and live coverage options.

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