ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Vikings women's basketball team traveled down to St. Petersburg for a pair of games this Monday and Tuesday, taking losses to #10 Trine University and Mount St. Joseph. 

Slow starts proved costly for the Vikings across the set, who were outscored by a combined 39-68 in the first half between the two matchups. However, the bulk of that deficit stems from two 5-point quarters where North Park could not get the lid off the basket. The Vikings played their opponents competitively outside of those laborious offensive droughts. 

In the Trine matchup, North Park outscored the Thunder 46-41 outside of their rough second quarter. The Vikings did not accomplish the same against Mount St. Joseph, but they did manage to play the Lions to 41-45 after the opening ten minutes. That margin sits at +1 in favor of the Vikings across those six quarters, but the two early deficits were too vast for North Park to emerge from. 

Against Trine, the Vikings had three double-digit scorers in Victoria Perry (15), Esther Miller (13), and Felicia Sunden (12). Sunden also chipped in with 6 rebounds which tied her for the team-high alongside Chantel Hairston, who added 4 assists. As a team, North Park forced 22 turnovers with Miller, Sunden, Hairston, and Elisha Dunlap all collecting 3 steals.

Perry again led the team in scoring vs. Mount St. Joseph with 12, though she was the only Viking in double-figures for that game. Her 6 rebounds also marked a team-best. Hairston again wreaked havoc defensively with 4 steals, giving her 7 across just two games.

The Vikings don't take the court again until New Year's Eve when they travel to Lisle to take on Benedictine, with game time set for noon. Following the break from conference action, North Park resumes CCIW play on January 4 against Illinois Wesleyan to open up the 2023 calendar.