Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Box Score

Feb. 10, 2016 – Leading for over 39 minutes of play on Wednesday, the North Central College women's basketball team cruised to a 109-87 victory over Carthage College, closing out the home portion of the schedule and improving to 6-6 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play.
 
Carthage's Morgan Vukovich opened the scoring with a jumper to give the Lady Reds (9-14, 5-7 CCIW) its only lead of the contest, as Miranda Grizaffi connected on a three-pointer to put the Cardinals on top, while Erica Buck and Paula Zerante scored down low on consecutive possession to give North Central an early 7-2 lead.
 
The Lady Reds hung around in the first quarter, trimming the lead to one on multiple occasions, but a 7-2 run to close the half gave the Cardinals a 32-26 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Cardinals (12-11, 6-6 CCIW) extended the lead to double digits at the 4:06 mark of the second quarter, as a 6-0 run gave North Central a 42-32 lead.  Mayson Whipple and Caroline Heimerdinger each recorded layups over the run, while Anita Sterling knocked down a pair of free throws.
 
Carthage trimmed the lead down to four with just 30 seconds to play before halftime, but Jamie Cunynailed a three-pointer on the Cardinals final possession before the intermission to increase the lead back to seven, 51-44.
 
Cuny hit another one of her four three-pointers on the evening out of the gate in the third quarter, increasing the Cardinal lead back to double-figures. 
 
Leading 61-53 with 5:14 to play in the quarter, the Cardinals opened the flood gates to the tune of a 12-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a 73-53 lead, highlighted by a pair of long balls from Whipple and Michaela Reedy.
 
North Central led by 20-plus points nearly the entire fourth quarter, finishing 18-of-49 from three-point range.  The Cardinals committed a season-low 11 turnovers, while forcing 30 from the Lady Reds .
 
Five Cardinals finished in double-figure scoring, led by Whipple's 17 points and eight assists.  Therese Pettersson finished with 14 points, while Cuny added 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. 
 
Grizaffi finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arch, giving her 60 made three-pointers this season, just four away from tying the program's single-season record.  Heimerdigner added 10 points off the bench, to go along with a game-high three steals.
 
Vukovich led all scorers with 24 points for the Lady Reds, while Bailey Gilbert finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Monica Masini also turned in a double-double off the bench, adding 10 points and a game-high 16 boards.
 
North Central travels to Elmhurst College on Saturday, Feb. 13 with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. at R.A. Faganel Hall.  Links to live coverage are available HERE.