Photo credit: Dr. Jeff Nelson and Paige Wilcox
CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park University women's basketball team concluded its season in the first round of the 2020 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament, falling to the North Central College Cardinals, 91-84, inside the North Park Gym on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals controlled the pace of play in the beginning of the first quarter, marking nine of the first 11 points. Sophomore guard Emily Czuhajewski broke up that run with a layup, but NPU only scored four more points through the quarter and trailed 16-8.
In the second quarter, junior guard Zakiya Newsome paced the Viking offense, making the first three field goals, to close the gap to 19-15. However, the Cardinals distanced themselves through the rest of the quarter. Every time the Vikings gained some momentum, the Cardinals struck back with a clutch basket of their own.
North Park found themselves down, 39-30, at the half. Newsome led the Vikings with 10 points and senior forward Alisha Panthier and sophomore forward Jayla Johnson led the Vikings with three rebounds each.
Halftime: North Central 39, North Park 30
Early in the third quarter, North Park inched closer, trailing by a small margin of 35-30. Once more, however, the Cardinals stole the momentum back, powering ahead to a 64-48 lead entering the final quarter.
With their playoff hopes on the line, North Park started the fourth quarter firing on all cylinders; the offense provided 13 of the first 16 points, highlighted by four points from senior guard Angelina Villasin and a 3-pointer off the hand of Newsome. North Central then countered with a 7-0 run and extended its lead to 74-61.
North Park certainly gave the Cardinals a run for their money, hoisting a trio of 3-pointers, including two by junior guard Lauryn Alba Garner in the waning minutes of the game. Unfortunately, it proved too little too late as the Cardinals topped the Vikings, 91-84.
Final: North Central 91, North Park 84
Quick Hits
- Alba Garner tallied a career-high 22 points to lead the Viking offense
- Newsome and Villasin also set new career-highs with 19 and 15 points, respectively
- Panthier led the Vikings with eight rebounds
- Both teams combined for 73 free-throw attempts and 56 fouls
--NPU--
