Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
ELMHURST, Ill. (Jan. 4, 2025) - Ringing in 2025 with a victory, the North Central College women's basketball team took the lead early in the first quarter and never looked back in an 83-63 rout of Elmhurst University on Saturday afternoon inside R.A. Faganel Hall.
Jocelyn Trotter forced a Bluejay bad pass and turned it into a fastbreak layup for the game's first points. A pair of free throws from Biz Daly sparked a 9-0 run for the Cardinals, forcing a timeout. After Elmhurst fought back within two, Megan Duffy and Elle Sutter kept North Central in front, 18-11. Ameli Sanchez buried a three with less than a minute left in the opening quarter as the Cardinals held a 21-15 lead.
Another 9-0 run for North Central, capped off by a Grace Kieffer deep ball and a Daly layup, giving the Cardinals a 33-21 advantage with 3:31 to play in the first half. Cate Uhren hit another three pointer for the Cardinals before Daly made a second-chance basket to extend the lead to 17, 40-27. Trotter made a jumper on the final possession of the second quarter to give North Central a 44-28 lead at the break.
Megan McClure began the third quarter with a three pointer, assisted by Josylin Simmons-Doxie. Sanchez made a layup to keep the 17-point advantage at the media timeout before finishing the old-fashioned three-point play after the break. The teams traded points in the final minutes of the third quarter as Trotter knocked down both ends of a trip to the charity stripe, putting the Cardinals ahead by 19, 70-51.
Sutter sank a three ball on the Cardinals' first possession. Simmons-Doxie made a pair of free throws before Kennedy Hartwig hit a three pointer, putting North Central ahead by 23, 83-60. The Cardinal defense held the Bluejays in check to secure a 83-63 victory.
Trotter led the visitors with 16 points while Daly posted her 12th straight game scoring double figures, posting 14 points and 11 rebounds. McClure added 10 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting day, along with seven rebounds. As a team, the Cardinals shot 48% from the field and 45% from behind the arc.
The Cardinals stay on the road Wednesday as they visit Millikin University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Griswold Center. The two squads split their matchups a season ago.
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