CHICAGO, Ill. -- The North Park women's basketball team took down Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday evening by a score of 63-58, with Victoria Perry and Chantel Hairston delivering during crunch time to secure the Vikings' victory.
This was a tightly contested matchup from tip-off to the final buzzer which saw neither side establish a convincing lead. The Vikings did manage a game-high 8-point lead towards the end of the first, but Wesleyan rallied late in the quarter to enter the second trailing by just one point. The Titans would flip that into a one-point lead by halftime--and take that same lead through the end of the third quarter—but the deciding fourth belonged to the Vikings.
Down by one to enter the fourth, North Park's Victoria Perry rattled off four quick points to take back the lead. As had been the theme throughout the game though, that lead proved to be short-lived. It wasn't until the two-minute mark that the Vikings were finally able to pull away. Following a free throw by Esther Miller to tie the game at 54-54, it was again Perry coming through to give North Park a three-point lead. Wesleyan soon responded, but a steal by Perry turned into a Chantel Hairston fastbreak layup to re-establish the Vikings' three-point lead with just under fifty seconds remaining. Wesleyan's Lauren Huber answered with a midrange jump shot, and with forty-three seconds remaining, the Titans had no need to foul. North Park opted to drain the clock, forcing Aaliyah Parker-Fox to take a difficult three-point attempt to avoid a shot clock violation. Chantel Hairston came up with a crucially decisive offensive rebound and putback layup to deny the Titans from running out in transition for the possible go-ahead basket. Forced to take a three, Wesleyan's Katelyn Heller came up short. Hairston then iced the game with two free throws to send the score to a final of 63-58.
The Vikings were led in scoring by Esther Miller's 19 on an efficient 9-12 shooting. Victoria Perry was the only other Vikings in double-figures with 13. Elisha Dunlap's 8 rebounds led North Park, 3 of which came on the offensive glass.
What's Next?
Next up for the Vikings is Elmhurst, who they'll take on this upcoming Saturday at 2:00 P.M. The Vikings will be the host to the Bluejays, with the two sides' men's teams facing off afterwards.
