Photo credit: Dr. Jeff Nelson

ELMHURST, Ill. -- The North Park University women's basketball bounced back from their loss on Wednesday by defeating the Elmhurst College Bluejays, 80-75, inside R.A. Faganel Hall on Saturday afternoon. 

Neither team could distance themselves from each other at the beginning of the first quarter.  Both the Bluejays and the Vikings traded the first 14 points to the tune of a 7-7 tie.  That stretch was highlighted by a three-point basket from sophomore guard Emily Czuhajewski. With Elmhurst up 11-9, junior guard Zakiya Newsome hit a three of her own, moving the score to 12-11. North Park rounded out their scoring with four more points through the quarter, leading Elmhurst 16-13.

First Quarter: North Park 16, Elmhurst 13 

Both teams continued its neck-and-neck play into the second quarter. The Vikings started off strong when sophomore guard Jacki Rapp marked a jumper and grew the Viking lead to five points at 18-13. However, Elmhurst was able to find the momentum of their own to grab a 26-23 lead.

Czuhajewski and senior guard Angelina Villasin sparked a seven-point scoring streak for the Vikings, but North Park was outscored, 7-2, through the rest of the second quarter to trail, 33-32, going into halftime. Newsome led the Vikings with seven points while Czuhajewski and Villasin followed with six points. 21 of the 32 points that the Vikings scored, in the first half, were off the bench.   

Halftime: Elmhurst 33, North Park 32 

After the Bluejays extended their lead to 37-33 at the beginning of the third quarter, Jayla Johnson and sophomore center Josie Summerville scored the next 10 points for the Vikings, moving the score to 43-37.  Johnson tallied six points and Summerville contributed four points, respectively.  The Vikings continued to grow their lead to 50-40 on a three by junior guard Sinead Molloy and a free throw by Rapp.   

Up by seven points in the closing seconds of the third quarter, Villasin drilled a jumper at the buzzer, growing the Viking lead back to 10 points at 57-47.  The Vikings outscored the Bluejays 25-14 and shot 8-for-12 (66%) from the field.   

Third Quarter: North Park 57, Elmhurst 47 

In the fourth quarter, Elmhurst showed some life and marked eight of the first 10 points of the quarter as the Vikings still led at 59-55. 

With the Bluejays trying to mount a comeback, the Vikings quickly halted any momentum with back-to-back jumpers from Newsome and junior guard Lauryn Alba Garner, making the score 63-57.  After Elmhurst sent in a basket, Czuhajewski tallied her third three pointer of the game to give the Vikings a 68-59 lead.

The Bluejays cut the Viking lead to 77-70 but the Vikings kept getting offensive production from up and down the lineup. At the end of the game, the Vikings marked a new season-high 80 points as North Park defeated Elmhurst, 80-75.   

Final: North Park 80, Elmhurst 75 

Quick Hits 

• Johnson led the Vikings with 22 points and matched her season high with 10 rebounds  

•  Czuhajewski and Newsome each notched 11 points and Alba Garner rounded out the double-digit scorers, posting a season-high 10 points

• The Vikings outscored the Bluejays (24-10) in points off turnovers and bench points (34-12)  

What's Next?  

The Vikings (11-3, 4-1 CCIW) return home for the first time since December 7, welcoming the Big Blue of Millikin University on Wednesday, January 15. Tipoff in the North Park Gym is set for 7 p.m. 

--NPU--