ELMHURST, Ill. (Dec. 14, 2019) – Scoring the first nine points of the game, the North Central College women's basketball team rolled to its first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) win of the season in a 70-46 rout of Elmhurst College on Saturday inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

A three-pointer from Natali Dimitrova opened the scoring, while Allison Pearson and Haydn Braun each knocked down a pair of free throws to take an early 7-0 advantage.

The Bluejays (3-6, 0-2 CCIW) missed their first nine field goal attempts as the Cardinal defense stymied the Elmhurst offense, allowing just seven first-quarter points to take a 16-7 lead after the opening quarter.

North Central (4-5, 1-2 CCIW) led by double figures nearly the rest of the contest, leading by as many as 17 in the first half as Dimitrova capped the half just like it opened with her second three-pointer of the half.

Continuing to dominate on both ends of the court, the Cardinal defense held the Elmhurst to single digits once again in the third quarter, holding the Bluejays to just six points while opening up a decisive 57-27 advantage heading to the fourth.

North Central shot 51% from the field, eclipsing the 50% plateau for the first time this season, led by 16 points from Braun while Rebekah Foley tallied a career-high 15 points off the bench.  Dimitrova also finished in double figures with 12 points while also leading the team with seven rebounds.

Kween Jean led the Elmhurst offense with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Becca Gerke added eight points off the bench.

With a break in CCIW play until the new year, the Cardinals play host to 20^th-ranked University of Chicago on Wednesday, Dec. 18 with tip-off at 5 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.