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

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 10, 2026) - Inside Gregory Arena, the North Central College women's basketball team defeated Wheaton College 67-55 on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals turned in a balanced team performance, led by Jocelyn Trotter and Biz Daly, who each scored 10 points. 

Trotter opened the scoring with a jumper to give the Cardinals an early lead. Wheaton quickly responded with a basket of its own before Dolly Smith scored on a driving layup off an assist from Daly to make it 4-2. Soon after, Kennedy Hartwig hit her first basket of the day with a three-pointer on a pass from Grace Kieffer, pushing the lead to 7-4.

Both teams went through a scoring drought until Alaya Redditt went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line with three minutes remaining, making it 9-4. Daly then converted a layup in the paint off a pass from Cate Uhren before Sanchez closed the quarter by going a perfect 4-for-4 at the line, giving North Central a 15-5 lead.

The Thunder opened the second quarter with a layup, but Kieffer answered with one on the other end to make it 17-7. The teams traded baskets before Smith scored another driving layup and Kieffer drained a three-pointer off a pass from Sanchez extending the Cardinals' lead to 24-12.

Wheaton continued to push the pace, scoring a layup and a pull-up jumper to cut the deficit to 26-16. Smith collected her sixth point of the day with another driving layup, but the Thunder responded with a three-pointer to make it 28-19. Wheaton added its final basket of the half on a layup before Natalie Doyle closed the half drilling a three-pointer, sending the Cardinals into the break with a 33-23 lead. 

During halftime, North Central honored the 2014-2015 women's basketball team for its standout season. Several members of the team joined one another at half court to recognize records that still stand today. 

Wheaton opened the second half with a jumper and later cut the deficit to six on a driving layup. Daly recorded a block on Wheaton's next layup before Kieffer was fouled and went 1-for-2 from the line to make it 36-29. Sanchez followed with a pull-up jumper, but Wheaton responded with a deep three-pointer to pull within six, 38-32. 

With under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Uhren knocked down a three-pointer off a pass from Doyle. Doyle followed moments later with a three-pointer of her own off an assist from Uhren to extend the lead to 12. The Thunder continued to battle back, scoring two layups with under three left to make it 47-38. Wheaton closed the quarter with an and-1 layup and free-throw, trimming the deficit to 48-42. Daly collected a block within the final seconds to prevent Wheaton from scoring another layup. 

Uhren got the scoring underway in the fourth with a driving layup before assisting Daly on another layup to make it 52-44. Trotter added a pull-up jumper before the Cardinals went scoreless for two minutes. Hartwig ended the drought after being fouled beyond the arc, converting all three free-throws to push the lead to 59-48. Wheaton answered with a jumper and a layup to pull within nine, 59-50. 

With two minutes remaining, Kieffer was fouled and went 1-for-2 at the line to restore a 10-point lead. Wheaton continued to push the ball and scored a layup off a North Central turnover, making it 61-52. Despite the final push by the Thunder, the Cardinals sealed the win at the free-throw line, going a perfect 6-for-6 from Hartwig, Daly, and Smith.

Trotter and Daly led North Central with 10 points and eight rebounds apiece. Trotter also recorded three steals. Kieffer added nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Hartwig finished with eight points and went a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. 

The Cardinals outshot the Thunder 38.8% to 32.3% and made 5 of 14 from beyond the arc, while Wheaton went 3 of 18. North Central also outrebounded Wheaton 42-36, never surrendering the lead and held it for 95.6% of the game.

North Central is back inside Gregory Arena on Wednesday night to host No. 24 Carroll University at 7 p.m. The Cardinals will look to defend last season's win and extend their current streak in CCIW play.