Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Feb. 11, 2025 - Seeing their three-game win streak snapped, the North Central College women's basketball team was outscored 30-7 in the first quarter to No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan University as the Cardinals could not overcome the early deficit, falling 79-55 on Wednesday night inside Gregory Arena.
Megan McClure scored North Central's first points with a layup off of an assist from Josylin Simmons-Doxie. A jumper from Ameli Sanchez brought the Cardinals within a point, 5-4 early in the contest. Another McClure basket kept pace with the Titans before Illinois Wesleyan put together a 21-0 drive to take a 30-7 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Biz Daly joined the scoring column with a layup off of a steal by Grace Kieffer. Back-to-back baskets from Jocelyn Trotter pushed the Cardinal point total to 14. A three-pointer from Megan Duffy with 25 seconds left closed out the first half as Illinois Wesleyan held a 44-17 advantage at the break.
North Central came out firing as McClure, Kieffer and Daly combined to score the first six points of the third quarter. The teams traded baskets as a three-pointer from Simmons-Doxie put the score at 58-32. The Titans closed the period on a 15-4 run to take a 73-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals opened the final 10 minutes on an 8-0 run. A steal from Kennedy Hartwig led to a Daly layup on the other end. Back-to-back deep balls from Duffy and Hartwig closed the gap to 20, 75-55 before the Titans secured a 79-55 victory to clinch the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship outright.
Daly racked up 14 points and three blocks with McClure adding 10 points. Trotter scored six points along with eight rebounds and five steals. As a team, North Central shot 42% from the floor, but a season-high 28 turnovers kept the game out of reach. The Titans had five scorers in double figures, led by Sawyer White with 15 points and seven steals. Illinois Wesleyan scored 46 points off of turnovers on the night.
North Central will look to bounce back Saturday and keep their hopes alive for a spot in the CCIW Tournament. The Cardinals visit Wheaton in the regular season finale inside King Arena. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
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