Thanks to Virginia Smith for the pictures

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Vikings women's basketball team fended off a comeback from the North Central Cardinals on Thursday, winning by a score of 74-59. 

This game was originally meant to be played on Wednesday, February 2nd but got pushed back due to inclement weather. The Vikings however did not delay in establishing an early lead against North Central, jumping ahead 19-5 after the 1st quarter. North Park employed a full court press that led to multiple forced turnovers and 6 easy points in transition in the 1st quarter alone. 

The 14-point gap after the 1st was close to the final 16-point margin, but North Park actually developed their lead even further in the 2nd and 3rd quarters—entering halftime with a 20-point lead and establishing a 28-point lead midway through the 3rd. 

The Cardinals fought back though and were able to close the gap with huge contributions from Elle Sutter who scored a game-high 29. With just over a minute left to play, she and the Cardinals brought the deficit into the single digits. However with the clock against them, they were forced to send the Vikings to the line where Chantel Hairston, Josie Summerville, Esther Miller proceeded to ice the game by scoring the Vikings' final 6 points at the charity stripe. 

Quick Hits

Miller led the Vikings by matching her career-high 25 points on a blistering 9-15 from the field. That marks the 2nd time she has scored 25 against the Cardinals this season after doing the same on January 19th. Chantel Hairston and Jayla Johnson put up inverted double-doubles, with Hairston recording 11 points and 14 boards while Johnson had 14 points with 11 boards. Josie Summerville was the only other Viking in double figures, scoring 10 points on a very efficient 5 shots. 

What's Next?

Next up for North Park is Augustana who will make the trip to Chicago to tip-off against the Vikings this Saturday at 5:00 P.M. Following their matchup, the men's team from both schools will play at 7:00 as the 2nd part of a Vikings doubleheader. Both teams will honor their seniors before tip off.