Contact: Rachel Balinao, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, rabalinao@noctrl.edu

ROCKFORD, Ill. (Dec. 19, 2025) - On Friday night, the North Central College women's basketball team dominated from start to finish, defeating Rockford University 81-45 as 12 Cardinals scored. Multiple Cardinals reached double figures, led by Kennedy Hartwig with a career-high 17 points, while Grace Kieffer recorded her first career double-double.

Ameli Sanchez, who tied the single-game three-point program record Wednesday, opened the game by draining a three-pointer for the first points. Kieffer followed with back-to-back assists on backdoor cuts to Biz Daly and Dolly Smith as the Cardinals jumped out to a 10-0 lead. 

Halfway through the first quarter, North Central's press had forced five Rockford turnovers. The Regents went on to score their first basket more than seven minutes into the quarter on an and-1 layup attempt to make it 16-2. Rockford later cut the lead at the free-throw line, but Kennedy Hartwig answered with a deep three-pointer to put the Cardinals ahead 19-6. Kaitlin Park closed the first quarter with a steal in the final seconds. 

To start the second quarter, Trotter and Daly scored on layups, both assisted by Smith, extending the lead to 23-8. Cate Uhren knocked down a pull-up jumper off a feed from Daly to make it 34-14. Moments later, Trotter recorded her sixth steal on a Rockford turnover and found Uhren cutting to the basket for a layup. 

Kieffer then added a pull-up jumper off an assist from Natalie Doyle as the Cardinals took a 38-14 advantage. Taylor Marquart closed the half by hitting two free-throws in the final seconds to give North Central its largest lead in the half, 42-14. The Cardinals forced 22 Rockford turnovers in the first half while committing none of their own.

Rockford began the second half with a three-pointer before adding another jumper to trim the deficit to 24. Smith answered with an offensive rebound and put-back layup before knocking down a jumper off an inbound play to extend the lead to 45-19. Alaya Redditt and Uhren contributed layups as North Central led 63-27 entering the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Hartwig went 3-for-3 from the three-point range with assists from Uhren and Marquart to put her in double digits, 74-29. Allie Lambe entered the game and immediately collected a steal to find Doyle in transition for a layup. Soon after, Doyle added a steal and layup while Nicole Wulfram scored her first career point with a free-throw. Lucy Wittenmyer was the last Cardinal to score with an assist from Kaylie Conklin, while Rockford managed a late push, but the game completed for an 81-45 Cardinal win. 

North Central's balanced scoring included Hartwig with 17 points, Trotter with 12 points and seven steals, Daly with 10 points, and Kieffer with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Other Cardinal scorers included Uhren (8), Smith (7), Sanchez (5), and Doyle (4). On the defensive end, Park added two steals, Allie Lambe had one, and Wittenmyer and Conklin combined for four defensive rebounds.

The Cardinals forced 35 Regent turnovers while committing just six, converting 30 points off the turnovers. North Central finished with 36.7% shooting from the field and 19.2% from three-point range, while recording a season-high 22 steals. The win improved the Cardinals to 8-3 on the season and extended their winning streak to three games. 

The Cardinals will be back in action after the holiday break, hosting Aurora inside Gregory Arena on Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. The Cardinals trail the Spartans 14-16 in the all-time series after falling in last year's meeting.