NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Feb. 14, 2026) - For a Valentines day thriller, the North Central College women's basketball team defeated Elmhurst University, 68-67, as Jocelyn Trotter drained a pull-up jumper in the closing seconds. The dramatic victory officially clinches a berth for the Cardinals in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Tournament. 

Prior to tip-off, North Central honored seniors Grace Kieffer and Gianine Boado for their contributions to the program. 

Boado set the tone at the opening tip, swatting away a Bluejays' layup attempt to ignite the Cardinals' defense. Elmhurst answered with a run sparked by CCIW assist leader Kristen Bukata before Dolly Smith answered with a layup to make it 2-4. The Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Kieffer and back-to-back layups from Alaya Redditt, to take a 13-4 lead. Cate Uhren added consecutive layups late in the quarter as North Central carried a 17-8 advantage into the second period.

Ameli Sanchez opened the second quarter with a three-pointer off an assist from Uhren to extend the lead to 12. Kaitlin Park followed with a layup, again assisted by Uhren, for a 22-10 edge. Uhren later connected from beyond the arc off a pass from Redditt, pushing the score to 27-16.

Taylor Marquart banked in a three-pointer from beyond the arc to push the Cardinals back in front by 12, 32-20. Just when it looked like the half would come to a close, Marquart beat the buzzer with another banked three, sending North Central into the break with its largest lead of the night, 40-24. 

North Central maintained control in the third quarter when Redditt scored inside and Sanchez added a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 45-28. The Bluejays trimmed the deficit to eight behind four points from Bukata, but Kieffer answered with a layup. Uhren later drained a three-pointer off an assist from Kieffer, and back-to-back three from Kennedy Hartwig and Sanchez closed the quarter with the Cardinals ahead, 60-49. 

Elmhurst mounted a comeback in a physical fourth quarter, hitting two three-pointers to cut the deficit to 63-59. After a North Central foul, Anna Kleszynski made two free throws to pull within two. Natalie Robinson tied the game at 63 with a layup before Hartwig buried a three to regain the lead, 66-63. 

Down to the wire, Elmhurst briefly took a 66-67 advantage after Kleszynski scored on consecutive layups. Jocelyn Trotter responded with a pull-up jumper with 16 seconds remaining to give the Cardinals a one-point lead. The Bluejays were unable to get a shot off on the final possession, sealing the 68-67 victory for North Central. 

Elmhurst shot 45.6% from the field compared to North Central 44.8%. The Cardinals held the edge from the three-point range, shooting 41.7% to the Bluejays' 25.0%. The game featured three lead changes and two ties. 

With the win, North Central clinches a spot in the CCIW Tournament, scheduled for Feb. 24-28. The Cardinals close the regular season on the road at Carthage College on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.