Box Score CHICAGO, Ill. – The North Park women's basketball team fell to the Millikin Big Blue by a score of 91-80 on Saturday afternoon at NPU Gymnasium.
It was a shooting clinic from both sides in the first half as Millikin perfected their touch from inside the arc, while NPU made it rain from three-point land. The Big Blue only attempted five threes in the first half, making one, but it was the mid-range game that got them to seem to repeatedly fall for the visitors, shooting 73% from two-point territory. Millikin had 14 points from Elyce Knudsen and 13 from Bailey Coffman.
The long ball was what fueled North Park to the halftime lead. The Vikings were a marvelous 7-11 from behind the three-point line including two from Emily Czuhajewski to give her nine points at the break, and four from Lauren Lee, all in the second quarter. Lee had 14 points at the half. The other three came from Lauren McKnight who had seven, while Esther Miller had 10, to go along with three steals. Both sides went 5-5 from the charity stripe in half one.
Two free throws from Lee with 1:05 left in the second gave the Vikings a one-point lead as the hosts would score five of the final seven points to go into the locker room with a four-point edge.
Halftime: North Park 44, Millikin 40
Both teams got into a heap of foul trouble in the third as 11 total fouls were called in the first 4:13 of the frame. This forced three freshmen in McKnight, Savanna Childress, and Olivia Reed to be on the floor for the majority of the third. Childress caught fire near the end of the quarter when she scored seven points in the span of about five minutes.
Two great plays sparked the Vikings alive early in the fourth when Lee hit a three-pointer followed on the next possession by an and-one from Reed. That put NPU within one, but the Big Blue offense just would not slow down, as they responded with five straight buckets to go up 11. From there, Millikin held control of the remainder of the game to win by 11.
Final: Millikin 91, North Park 80
Quick Hits:
- Lee finished with a career high 24 points on 6-8 shooting from behind the arc.
- Czuhajewski cranked in three threes for 20 total points.
What's Next?
The Vikings (9-3, 2-2 CCIW) will take on Augustana (6-5, 0-2 CCIW) in a rescheduled game on Monday, January 10th. That game will be at the Carver Center at 7 PM.
