Nov. 13, 2015 – Opening up the 2015-16 season against 10^th-ranked Calvin College, the North Central College women's basketball team dropped a 106-80 decision at the hands of the Knights on Friday night inside Gregory Arena.

North Central (0-1) held a 13-10 lead halfway through the opening quarter, but the Knights (1-0) rallied to close out the quarter on an 18-7 run to turn the tables and take a 28-20 lead.

Calvin opened the second quarter scoring the first seven points to quickly expand its lead 35-20, but the Cardinals fought back over the next five minutes to pull with three, 42-39 as the North Central run was highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Miranda Grizaffi while Caroline Heimerdinger added another.

Three points was as close as the Cardinals came to overcoming the Calvin lead, as the Knights immediately responded with an 11-point run to once again extend its lead to double-digits, 53-39 and took a 53-45 into the intermission.

The second half was all Calvin as the Knights opened the third quarter on a 26-4 run, spanning almost seven minutes to take a commanding 79-51 advantage.
Calvin led by as many as 36 points down the stretch, as the Cardinals shot just 27 percent for the game, including a 12-of-62 output from three-point range.  The Knights finished the contest shooting 51 percent from the field, while going 10-for-22 from long range.

Paula Zerante led the Cardinals with 13 points, going 8-for-13 from the free throw line.  Grizaffi also finished with 12 points, finishing 4-of-11 from three-point range, while Heimerdinger also finished in double-figures with 10 points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting from the field.  Anita Sterling chipped in a team-high seven rebounds, while Mayson Whipple led the squad with five assists on the evening.

Four Knights finished in double-figures, led by Ali Spaye's 26 points, finishing 6-of-9 from three-point range.  Anna Timmer turned in a 25 point, 16 rebound double-double, while Kally Verkaik also finished with a double-double, adding 14 points and 12 boards.

North Central plays host to Principia College on Friday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. in the opening game of the North Central Tip-Off Tournament